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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939260">Monstrous</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethargic_Pink/pseuds/Lethargic_Pink'>Lethargic_Pink</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Creatures &amp; Monsters, Angst, Body Horror, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Miraculous Side Effects, Miraculous Spooktober, because there's no way we could go without one, pls pay attention to that one</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:48:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939260</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethargic_Pink/pseuds/Lethargic_Pink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What does Marinette do when she suddenly grows wings? When her friends show animalistic traits? Apparently nothing yet, because the change has only just begun.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>October 2020 - Dark</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Antennas and Wings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've had this idea for nearly half a year I think and I've just been holding off until October for it, so finally! I can release it!<br/>This is really kinda just me exploring what would happen if Marinette and co. were to gain more physical traits from their Miraculous rather than just the tendencies like what has been explored in many other fics. It was also fueled by the fact that there is more Adrien change fics than Marinette or other Miraculous characters.<br/>This fic was inspired by a few other fics and I want to give credit where credit is due so here are those:<br/><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529486">Heroes With the Faces of Monsters</a><br/><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21226712">Jaws that Bite and Claws that Snatch</a></p><p>These are awesome reads too by the way, if you want to go check them out.<br/>If I remember anymore then I'll definitely add them in here.<br/>Now for the <b>warnings!</b><br/>If any of you are squeamish, I'd advise you to turn away from this fic because there is a <i>lot</i> of stuff in here that could either frighten or disgust and compared to what I’m planning for Adrien, Marinette’s changes are practically nothing.<br/>Also, I have no planning schedule for this, but I can promise it will be completed by the end of the month.<br/>Now that that's over, please enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette had been told by Tikki that there would be changes. That her body would begin to adjust to the powers she gained from the Miraculous. That she wouldn’t be <em> as </em> human as before. </p><p>It’d been a year or two since she got her Miraculous, and nothing aside from becoming more sensitive to the cold and having a greater like of (even a need to <em> eat </em> in order to get to the aphids) flowers had been much of a change. </p><p>She thought that’s all that would happen. </p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette’s back had been itchy a lot lately. </p><p>Honestly, her <em> entire body </em> had been rather itchy for awhile now, skin flaking off beneath her fingernails as it usually might when she was getting a new layer, but then there was the constant flaking and peeling <em> everywhere </em> as if she’d suffered a terrible sunburn she didn’t recall attaining. She had tried multiple new creams to no avail and often woke with dead skin everywhere on her bed, causing her to have to wash the sheets practically daily, which she couldn’t continue doing, so she eventually just went with getting bedding for every day of the week. On saturday, she’d wash them all.</p><p>Though, waking in a pile of dead skin wasn’t quite so bad as finding it in her hair and bunched up under her fingernails though she never scratched. </p><p>Recently though, the itching was worse on her back. It’d probably been half a week since it started. And it was getting worse. It was <em> simmering </em>and she often caught her hands nearing the skin to give it a good scratch, alleviate the scalding nerves of their pain.</p><p>She didn’t itch it though, no matter how much she wants to, because with how itchy it was, it’d be unlikely she’d be able to stop herself even when she’d broken through her skin. </p><p>So no matter how hard she wanted to touch it, she left it alone. </p><p>She’d only scratched at the irritating skin between her shoulder blades once or twice and it was on accident at the beginning when she’d forgotten she wasn’t supposed to do that and it had <em> burned </em>. It was relieving at first, cool like water, but then it started to sting, a mix of heat and the prickling sensation you get from sleeping limbs. The skin has been hot ever since. </p><p>Since then, she always had a small presence of mind focused <em> only </em> on not itching. </p><p>It was rough with school and things she needed to pay attention to. Marinette wanted to tell her parents, go to the doctors or something, but unlike herself, she felt as if she needed to keep quiet, like there would be a great problem if she said anything. She felt like if she went to tell her busy parents that she’d distract them for nothing, so she shouldn’t go ask them about it. </p><p>It truly had been unusual. </p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>The itchiness in her back spreaded. </p><p>Instead of just between her shoulder blades, it went up a a little, and then, like a diamond, narrowed as it went further down her back till about her waist. </p><p>When Marinette looked in the mirror, the pink mark of it really was in the shape of a diamond with a much wider top than bottom. Actually, the top seemed a bit rounder but still somehow ended with a bit of a point, like an umbrella. </p><p>At the very least, the rest of the itching on her body had begun to calm and her skin didn’t flake off so often.</p><p>It soon began to puff up a bit, like an allergic hive reaction. </p><p>Then it started to swell, and Marinette felt sick. </p><p>During this entire time, Marinette had slowly started wearing more hoodies than her normal clothes as the tightness of her usual shirt and jacket would rub the sore spot and leave her in unbearable pain. The one time she’d tried after the new changes, she couldn’t open her trap door without falling to her knees, biting her lip to keep both the scream and the bitter bile back. It had taken several minutes of kneeling on the floor, forehead pressed to the cold wood, before she could get up and slowly take the stupid thing off, which had resulted in more spikes of pain. Obviously, she’d been much much later to school than normal that morning. So she went for looser things. But with how swollen it was, especially in two small mounds between her shoulder blades, there was no way she’d be able to hide it, let alone go about her day like normal. Her friends had already begun to notice something was off with her. </p><p>So she stayed home. </p><p>She felt nauseous, and when she checked her temperature, it was rather high. </p><p>She tossed and turned in bed, her back on fire, but the tossing certainly didn’t help. </p><p>She’d thought of getting several ice packs to soothe and numb the flames, but then her eyes had landed on the bathroom door, and she had a better idea. </p><p>She stumbled into the shower and didn’t even bother tearing off her sticky sweatshirt, shorts, and underwear before turning the water to the coldest setting. </p><p>Ice shocked her system, making her lungs not want to stretch as fully as they should. She didn’t move away though, or turn up the temperature, because through the clothes the burning seemed to dull. </p><p>The clothes started getting heavy and even though the way the cooled fabric clung to her skin was nice, it was clinging to less comfortable places, so she carefully peeled them off and left them in a sopping pile on the tub floor, leaning on the bathroom wall for support against the drooping of her eyes.</p><p>Marinette stood below the stream of cool water for a long time. She wasn’t sure how long, but it was too soon when even the coldest water stopped soothing. </p><p>Now, instead of a fire and itch, her back was somewhat numb, yes, but a bone heavy ache pulsed beneath her skin and left her more weary than she thought she could get. </p><p>Tenderly, she wrapped a soft, fluffy, clean white towel around her mid section, but even with her gentlest movements, even with the wonderful texture, she still flinched beneath the harrowing sting the fabric elicited.</p><p>Slowly turning, she looked at her back in the mirror. The skin was far pinker with bubbles beneath, similar to what might have been expected of a burn wound, but there was a line down the center of it, an indent in the skin that aligned with where her spine was. She reached out with a cautious hand and touched the still hot skin. </p><p>It stung, until the skin skin shifted and the indent opened like a slit, the action reminding Marinette of having a glob of stick glue between pieces of paper she was glueing together and smoothing out one of the pieces so that the purple glob of excess glue was out. </p><p>A wave of relief hit Marinette like a boulder. </p><p>The slit down the middle of her back didn’t stop at the bottom of the diamond. Instead, more skin outlining the pink mark sliced open and a gooey clear, light blue, mucus-like substance oozed from the open cuts that only stopped up at the top of the umbrella shape. </p><p>With a gentle finger, she prodded again at the sensitive skin and mucusy substance. It clung to her fingers and Marinette couldn’t help how her nose scrunched in response. </p><p>Then she felt something. Not just her fingers, no, it felt like that sensation when you touch your own skin, that strange feeling of touching and being touched in two places at once. </p><p>All the sudden it was like a new set of nerves existed in her mind and her fingers lightly pulled at what it was they’d found moments before. </p><p>A clear but paper thin membrane slipped out from the layer of pink skin, followed by another of the same shape from the opposite layer of skin. </p><p>Wings that went down to the middle of her calves hung limply, almost rumpled, from her back. </p><p>It shocked and awed her but more than that, she was relieved and exhausted. </p><p>So much so that she didn’t particularly care to think much about how she now had wings, loose skin, and a new set of nerves and muscles. She could do that later. </p><p>For now, she trudged back to her bed and collapsed, still wet and cold, the only thing on her a loosely wrapped towel. </p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette stared at herself in her bedroom mirror, gazing at the wings that looked similar to ladybug wings but didn’t have the brown/black coloring that should have been there. </p><p>She also stared at the almost unfeeling skin now. It hung from her back, still pink, almost like a small cape. </p><p>She’d woken up moments ago and had already noticed changes to these wings she’d suddenly grown. </p><p>The wings were stiffer now, not so limp, and would now lift in the air, the skin that had previously been a part of her back bending and raising in response. The skin, she guessed, was the outer shell in which she would tuck her wings within, the hardened elytra. </p><p>Below where the skin had opened and the wings had come out, a new layer of pale white skin sat. If you were to take the wings and elytra off her, it would look like some of her back had been pushed in a little. It didn’t bother her spine it seemed. </p><p>She’d immediately looked up how ladybugs hide their wings and learned that they could fold up like some sort of origami. </p><p>She stretched her wings and enjoyed the tightness of the action. Before she tried putting them away, she wanted to see if she could fly. </p><p>Thankfully, her room had a high ceiling. </p><p>Carefully, almost instinctively, she began to beat her wings.</p><p>She hovered on her tiptoes for a second and fell. She tried again. </p><p>This time, she was able to get off her feet. The next time, she was flying several feet off the ground. </p><p>The wings were strange things that, though clear, would reflect the light in rainbows like bubbles, and though they were relatively fragile and could likely be easily torn with enough force, they were also extremely strong and flexible, able to bend more than break.</p><p>She could feel every change in the air with them. Even the lightest of brushes across the membrane was registered and accounted for to keep her in the air. They were highly sensitive. Enough to make up for the lack of sense in the new and hardened skin of her back. </p><p>Knowing she’d be able to fly, she thought of how to fold the wings in. </p><p>With trial and error, she was able to fold them back into the elytra, pressed tightly against her skin. The elytra closed so smoothly the lines almost seemed to disappear. </p><p>Marinette felt slightly stuffy like that, and she knew she’d have the need to stretch her wings soon again, but it wasn’t too annoying to have them put away. </p><p>She was thankful as she wasn’t sure how well she’d be able to attend school if she couldn’t hide them.</p><p>Done with her experimentation, Marinette turned on the silent Tikki who had been watching from the desk without a sound. </p><p>“Now, mind telling me why the <em> heck </em> I have freaking <em> wings?!” </em></p><p>Tikki had the slight decency to look ashamed. </p><p>She wrung her little paws, “I’m sorry Marinette, I didn’t think it’d turn out like this. Most of my charges don’t change so much that they get wings. If I’d known I would have told you. As it is, I don’t know if you’ll change anymore than this nor how.”</p><p>Marinette sighed and rubbed at her tired eyes. </p><p>Seriously? </p><p>Maybe nothing else will change. How much worse can things get aside from growing wings?</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>It turns out things can get a <em> lot </em>worse but Marinette wouldn’t know that till later. </p><p>Now, she was dealing with her wings, getting used to them and the lack of feeling in her elytra.</p><p>Thankfully, the moment she’d gotten them, her skin had completely stopped regenerating so fast and now she didn’t have to clean her bed every single day. The new skin her body had settled in was smooth and soft, almost translucent, and without any previous marring to be seen. No scars from her clumsiness, no blemishes from acne, honestly it seemed as if her body had decided to just stop making such a thing. She wasn’t about to complain. Luckily, she still kept her smattering of freckles. She kinda liked those. </p><p>She could now wear her normal clothes and the worried glances her friends cast her disappeared. </p><p>She just had to remember to be careful with thin fabrics and changing in front of others, like for gym.<br/>
It was hard though because since she got back, everyone sorta seemed to stare. For awhile, she had thought that her friends and classmates had somehow managed to figure her out, but that fear was quickly squashed when Rose bound up to her asking about what sort of skin care she had. </p><p>Aside from her new skin problems, Marinette had started working on a few new bras that could give her easy access to her wings so that she could easily stretch them whenever and not take up an incredible amount of time just getting them out. </p><p>It was rather hard considering that she had to look up a lot about how bras are made for proper support, not even going into how her wings take up most of her back and therefore gave her little room for bras in general, but she’d get there. </p><p>Now though, now she was at the dinner table worrying about the blood filling her mouth because <em> she just freaking bit her tongue </em> and it wasn’t even that <em> hard </em> and yet she’d <em> still </em> pierced the flesh. </p><p>“Honey? Are you alright?” Sabine asked. </p><p>Okay, <em> okay </em>, she just bit her tongue and now there’s a lot of blood but its fine and she can’t scare her parents, but she’s gotta answer. </p><p>
  <em> Play cool, play cool, play cool- </em>
</p><p>Marinette turned to her mother and with the utmost nonchalance, said, “I bit my tongue.” as blood dribbled from her mouth and began dripping onto her plate. </p><p>Tom and Sabine leapt to their feet.</p><p>It took great convincing to keep them from calling the hospital, but it helped that it was a small puncture and most of the bleeding stopped after she’d put a gauze to it. </p><p>Marinette looked herself in the mirror, carefully running a finger over her now very sharp canines. </p><p>“What the heck?” </p><p>Tikki floated up to her, “Oh, instead of getting mandibles, your teeth got sharper.” She had said it almost to herself as if noting an observation more than explaining.</p><p>Her teeth suddenly made sense. </p><p>“Wait-! <em> Mandibles?!” </em></p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Nothing much had happened since her teeth getting sharper. </p><p>It was getting colder outside, and though it hadn’t bothered her as much as before, Marinette had quickly realized that she was going to get more ladybug like and knew this was likely to happen. </p><p>She was <em> exhausted </em>. </p><p>Even though she'd slept all night, she was still fighting off sleep as she walked into class and it was only mid fall. What was she going to do in the winter? She decided she’d figure it out later as she rubbed circles into her closed eyes.</p><p>One thing to note since the changes first began was that she now had wings as Ladybug too. Those ones were properly darker and instead of skin elytra, she had a circular shield like thing over her shoulder blades that would open up and release her wings. </p><p>Her fans, believing it to only be part of the costume, had hesitantly, but lovingly accepted it, after all, it was one of the greatest things if she flew by your window, and if you caught a picture of her, you were now at the top of the social hierarchy that declared who and what was popular. </p><p>Chat had gotten so excited. He’d been starry eyed for <em> days </em> and often had trouble with battles, but he eventually got enough self consciousness that he limited his excitement to only patrols. </p><p>Marinette sighed as she fell into her chair, her hair, undone, brushing across the desk below. </p><p>Her nose crinkled at the sudden onslaught of the smell of old varnish and maple wood that disappeared as soon as it came. </p><p>It had come and gone so fast that she wondered if perhaps it’d even happened at all. </p><p>She got ready for the day, pulling out textbooks, greeting Alya, her usual. </p><p>And school continued on like that, where suddenly Marinette would smell something before anyone else and taste things she shouldn’t be able to since she didn’t have anything in her mouth. </p><p>The scents she smelled in the cafeteria during lunch smelled good, but many clashed, especially when she could smell things so clearly. </p><p>She didn’t understand why this was happening but she thought it had to be related to her recent changes. </p><p>Tikki has been just as tired as her lately but was more active in the bakery due to the heat of the ovens, so she planned on asking Tikki when she got back home. </p><p>The end of school bell rang and Marinette leaned over to grab her bag of stuff, but like the clutz she was, almost reformed or not with how little she’s fallen lately <em> (mostly it was just cause she was tired) </em>, Marinette’s hand missed and instead knocked her bag down the steps with her almost falling with it had she not caught herself on the desk. </p><p>She looked up, and of course, all her books and papers were strewn about down the stairs. </p><p>She sighed and started to clean things up. </p><p>Then another pair of hands appeared. One with a silver ring on his right ring finger and nicely trimmed/cared for nails. Her breath caught, but she worked on cleaning everything instead of thinking about the boy who was helping her because if she did, she could possibly break down and she <em> really </em> did not need that. </p><p>When they collected everything off the floor, they both stood and Adrien offered her her stuff with a kind smile that had Marinette’s heart jumping to her throat. </p><p>
  <em> How does he do that?! </em>
</p><p>“Here, I saw you trip.” </p><p>She nodded and offered a very small thank you because if she said anything more she would <em> definitely </em> start rambling nonsense. </p><p>Adrien gave her another smile once she had everything all together, then pat her shoulder before leaving, and in that briefest of moments, Marinette knew something she had never known before. </p><p>His hand brushed across the tips of her hair, and she could smell something that <em> Adrien the Fragrance </em> would <em> never </em> be able to hold a candle to.</p><p>The scent of fresh wood and a crystal clear creek filled her nose, accented by the vaguest of smells similar to milk or cream and that unidentifiable musk that you can only call <em> ‘boy.’ </em></p><p>But that wasn’t it. Of course not. She’d be in shock if it was, but she was far <em> past </em>shock.</p><p>A sweet taste graced her tongue, something smoky on the edges, and the unfamiliar, but not unknown, feeling of skin brushing across her lips. </p><p>Her face felt scalding hot. </p><p>She couldn’t move as she watched her hair imperceptibly reach out for Adrien’s fleeting form as if it was staticky and reaching for the contact of something that would conduct the electricity trapped inside, but not once had her hair seemed like it had static all day. </p><p>“Woah! Marinette’s hair is moving!” she heard Alix say, but the tom boy was dismissed when Alya said, “You’re looking at her hair? Look at her face!” </p><p>Marinette was careful about what her hair touched after that. </p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette found that the strands of her hair were slightly thicker before, and if you looked closely, you could see it broken into many segments. </p><p>What sucked was that the new and repurposed appendages were very sensitive and she couldn’t wear her hair ties anymore due to how tight they were, but she couldn’t <em> not </em>tie her hair up either, her hair would get everywhere and she was starting to get sensory overloads. So she started tying her hair in loose ribbons that didn’t leave her feeling like a piece of her was being crushed.</p><p>Marinette didn’t know what that meant for when she needed a haircut. She’ll likely just have to let it grow out unless it stopped growing now. </p><p>She also had to deal with the taste of her shampoo and conditioner because even though it was now basically antennae, it would still get greasy like normal hair. She had given up using her previous shampoo and conditioner after the first few days. It was freaking disgusting! Shampoo and conditioner weren’t <em> meant </em>to be tasted!</p><p>So Marinette hunted down an herbal shampoo and conditioner that didn’t bring the nasty bitter taste of plastic and chemicals to her mouth.</p><p>The good about the new change was that her hair now could sense movement and would therefore shift imperceptibly to move away if something that could hurt the new nerves came close so it’s not like she had to suffer them being pinched or pulled and whatever pain might come of that.</p><p>Marinette walked into class, aware of where her pigtails were at all times. </p><p>She fiddled with a few strands as she walked up to her seat, her fingers not irritating them at all. </p><p>Just as she passed Adrien’s seat, his head immediately snapped up. </p><p>It startled Marinette enough for her to stumble back a little. </p><p>She blinked owlishly at him, wondering why he had moved like that. His eyes were blown wide, irises a thin slip of green before being swallowed up by large pupils, and his nose twitched, his fingers clenching and unclenching on the table, breath stuttering as he tried to control it.</p><p>He stared at her, but there was a glassy look to his eyes that made her think “maybe not.”</p><p>His lips parted as if to speak but nothing came out.</p><p>“A-Adrien?” she stammered, worry setting in. </p><p>The use of his name seemed to bring him back to the present and he was looking away, his eyes closer to normal but his cheeks held a light pink tinge. </p><p>Nino leaned over, “Hey, dude, you okay there?”<br/>
Adrien nodded, “Y-yeah, just…” his gaze found her once more before he dropped it to his lap where he twiddled his fingers, teeth tenderly biting at his lower lip.</p><p>He looked like he wanted to say something.</p><p>She waited patiently for what felt torturously like hours when it most likely was only a minute. </p><p>He looked back up at her, still nervous, but a little more determined and confident.<br/>
“Um, Marinette, did you, uh, get a new perfume or something?” His nerves came back to him as he scratched at the back of his neck and he looked down, his voice coming out quietly, “You, uh, you smell nice.”</p><p>Marinette understood why he was so reluctant to speak. It wasn’t something you tended to ask about usually, or really say, because others always thought it weird.</p><p>“N-no, I haven’t.” She manages to say, trying hard to keep her heart from exploding.</p><p>“O-oh.” He looked even more shy if that was even possible, shame creeping in.</p><p>She didn’t like that he was feeling bad over a such a question. </p><p>“Thank you… for the compliment, I mean.”</p><p>She was so proud to have strung that coherently. Didn’t even stutter!</p><p>He looked back up at her to see her smile. Some of the shyness and shame fading away. He smiled in response.</p><p>“You’re welcome.”</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette… was having a hard time breathing lately.</p><p>It felt like she’d been tight laced, except it was not only focused on her waist but her chest, her ribs, as well. When she breathed in, sometimes she wheezed and her ribs creaked. No matter how much air she tried to inhale, her lungs wouldn’t stretch fully.</p><p>At night, she’d wake up to a shifting sensation, often accompanied by a pinching painful feeling not unlike having a stitch in your side from running too much without enough air, except it wasn’t limited to a single point, the pain lined her sides.</p><p>She wondered if perhaps this is what those with asthma felt like, this self suffocation that led you to panic because you simply <em> couldn’t breathe- </em> </p><p>Inhale, softly, hold it, let go. </p><p>She tried this. </p><p>It didn’t work as well as it used to. </p><p>When she tried to hold her breath, her body revolted and she spasmed for air within ten seconds, her throat scratching to cough. </p><p>There were many coughing fits nowadays.</p><p>Marinette wondered what was happening to her.</p><p><em> What </em> could <em> possibly </em>leave her this breathless?</p><p>What change could cause her lungs to not work as they should?</p><p>She was getting those worried looks again.</p><p>Her mother, her father, Nino, Alya, <em> Adrien </em>, everyone.</p><p>Why wouldn’t they give her such a thing though? With her translucent skin constantly holding a sheen of sick, dark bruises beneath her eyes, the lack of appetite.</p><p><em> “What’s wrong? Is she okay?” </em> they all whispered, but none would come to her directly, because they know her answer, she’s said it so many times now.</p><p>“I’m okay,” she smiles, “It’s alright, I’m not sick. I feel fine.”</p><p>They’d given up on getting the truth from her, and honestly, that hurt, the lack of trust, but she broke it first. She couldn’t possibly expect them to place their trust in her when she has done nothing but throw it away. </p><p>She decided it was better to not think about it. There was nothing she could do about the situation anyway, unless you count as coming out as Ladybug and admitting that you’re undergoing a magical change to make you less human in exchange for your powers. </p><p>Yeah, there’s no way she could do that.</p><p>So she looked away and pretended the problem didn’t exist.</p><p>If she couldn’t fix it, what was the point on beating herself up over it?</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Being sleepy, cold, and unable to breathe sucks. Not to mention stressed.</p><p>So Marinette decided at the very least she was going to be comfortably warm while she was sleepy and unable to breathe. Hopefully, this would even help her stress too.</p><p>Marinette stepped over the bath tub edge and plopped into the heated water with a sigh.</p><p>One thing about being unable to breathe properly, she noticed, was that you sigh a lot. It’s not even for any specific reason. Even if she’s not relieved or sad, even if she’s doing something happily, she’ll sigh. Her best guess was that she couldn’t always get all the air out of her lungs in one go anymore and so it built up until it released in one wave. Though, she’d been sighing a little less in the past day or so.</p><p>The water felt so nice. She would have loved to stretch her wings if she weren’t worried about what the consequences of getting them wet would be. She supposed she’d just have to stretch them when she gets out.</p><p>Her eyelids started to droop from lack of and stronger instinct to sleep, not to mention the warmth and comfort within the water.</p><p>She let herself slip.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Marinette blearily blinked her eyes open but found that there was still no clarity to her vision.</p><p>Her face scrunched up in confusion as she tried understand what was going on. She looked this way and that, remembering what exactly it was that she had been doing before falling asleep.</p><p>Then with a shock, the hazy memory of having gotten into the bath came back and she realized she was underwater.</p><p>Panic flooded her veins like ice water.</p><p>How long had she been under?</p><p>Then there came another realization and question with it: <em> why haven’t I started to drown? </em></p><p>Usually, when she fell asleep in the bath, if she started to slip into the water, she would wake up with a burning nose and throat because she’d inhaled some of the water, and yet, here she was, beneath the surface, nose and throat fine.</p><p>In fact, she didn’t think she was breathing at all.</p><p>How was she still alive?!</p><p>Maybe she was already dead?!</p><p>But then why was it that her lungs didn’t feel any less out of air than before?</p><p>Marinette stood from the water, the cooling bathwater sloshing with a splash, and looked about her naked person to see if there was anything that could provide the answer.</p><p>Now that she was out of the water, she felt like she could breathe a lot more than she had been able to before. It was almost as if her lungs were fine but she could still feel the vague constricting of her torso.</p><p>That’s when she noticed them. Small, ovalish in shape, not easily noticeable unless being looked at closely, there were two lines of holes going up her stomach that continued until just below the breast, overlapping perfectly with where her ribs jut out.</p><p>She twisted and noticed another set on her back. </p><p>If she looked closely, she could see the slightest of movement.</p><p>“Tikki?” She called out warily, eyes never leaving the new holes that were barely bigger than her pores and fairly spaced.</p><p>Tikki flew through the closed door a moment later, “Yes?” </p><p>Marinette, still not looking away, spoke. “What are these?”</p><p>Tikki flew closer to have a look.</p><p>“Oh, well, if I had to guess, I’d say they’re spiracles. It’s how a bug breathes.”</p><p>Marinette finally looked away from the holes, “Spiracles?”</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>It was weird at first, but Marinette quickly got over it. Too many things had happened for her to hold onto it for very long. </p><p>She can at least breathe now, though she still doesn’t quite understand how its possible for her to have both a human respiratory system and a bug’s. I mean, how the frick does she have several more trachea now? And they’re so small! </p><p>Not only is she pumping air to the rest of her body, but via these new tubes, the air is also being delivered straight to the tissue, more than making up for her constricted lungs. It’s highly possible that right now, she could even avoid a heart attack for longer than others.</p><p>It’s a strange thing to have them closed, the spiracles. She can feel it, make them close, but even when they’re shut, she can still breath normally, and when she holds her breath, she doesn’t have to inhale or exhale for an hour, apparently x4 the amount of time a ladybug can go without air, but that hasn’t actually been tested out before. Marinette could only find guesses saying ‘possibly 10 to 15 minutes.’</p><p>Either way, she can now go without air for an incredibly long time. </p><p>But that didn’t stop the pain.</p><p>It’d been escalating, and if Marinette didn’t know any better, she’d think her organs were being moved around inside herself. </p><p>Her lack of appetite has been troubling because even though she is <em> starving </em>, she can’t get herself to eat much. If she eats too much, then she can’t even look at food without the need to throw up. </p><p>She also had this great craving for all dairy products, especially the ones with heavy amounts of calcium.</p><p>Tikki one morning suggested eating more proteins. </p><p>After that, Marinette wasn’t as hungry before. </p><p>She didn’t have to eat much but what she did eat was so full of protein, apparently something she needed a lot of with these changes, that she didn’t feel as if her body was eating itself. </p><p>That was only one component to her ailments though. </p><p>Her body still felt as if it was shifting beneath the skin. Her torso still creaked and groaned and her ribs hurt like crazy.</p><p>She ignored the aches the best she could, focusing on school work, commissions, and fighting off akuma, but they were getting worse as time went on and had she not gained wings, she would have considered going to the hospital but… she wasn’t- she wasn’t <em> human </em>anymore. Not completely. Yes in the way it most counts, her heart, but her heart meant nothing to doctors finding strange and new things, meant nothing to Hawkmoth who would realize who she was and target not only her but her friends and family too.</p><p>So she let it be and hoped that like everything else so far, it would complete it’s goal and then she wouldn’t hurt anymore.</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette smelled the flower gently pinched between her fingers. </p><p>She had been on her last round of patrol for the night when she’d run past the small, dimly lit greenhouse and the smell of the flowers had been so nice, she’d turned around and was running back to it before she’d even made the conscious thought to do so.</p><p>She supposed it was okay to take a small stop, no one was around to see her go in and she didn’t need to be back home having told her parents she was going to sleep early, so she could spare some time to laze around the flowers.</p><p>Marinette began to feel a bit stuffy, in serious need of stretching her wings after sitting here for so long. </p><p>The shirt was tugged off easily, just a tee, and thankfully she’d already made new bras. Open back was the style she’d found, she just had to make it so that the lower strap went low enough to allow access to her wings.</p><p>Slowly, the elytra pulled up and her wings unfolded, straightening out in the warm air. </p><p>It always felt so nice having them out.</p><p>For awhile, she merely sat there and enjoyed it all, but then her torso shifted again within and there was a<em> snap. </em></p><p>Her eyes blew wide open and she only barely managed to hold back a scream. Her wings tensed, prepared to fly her away to safety.</p><p>Marinette looked down at where the pain stemmed, hot coals heating her veins.</p><p>Her skin writhed like something living was inside, trying to make its way out.</p><p>She felt her chest constrict more than it ever had before, felt her stomach and other organs cry out from the unrelenting pressure they were in, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing until she feared they might just pop.</p><p>As her ribs continued to pull in on itself and her organs moved slightly downwards in search of space, Marinette worried for her heart, worried it wouldn’t be able to take the restraint and pump blood to the rest of her body like it should.</p><p>When her ribs pulled together as far as one could think possible, and then a little more, Marinette hoped it had been the end, but instead, there was a series of <em> snaps </em>.</p><p>One by one, her ribs fractured and broke and shattered, soon followed by the edge of her pelvis, the iliac crest, and the greater trochanters.</p><p>The pain was immeasurable and it took all she had to keep from screaming out in pain, instead inhaling a sharp gasp, causing her chest to hurt more.</p><p>She flopped to the floor on her back uselessly, unable to hold herself up properly.</p><p>Marinette continued to stare down at her writhing torso, simply trying to breath, but it was so <em> hard </em> because she no longer had <em> ribs </em>and her chest was threatening to cave in on itself, the remnants of her bones sliding around inside, slicing small cuts into the soft tissue of her inner body with their sharp edges and she wondered how she’d die first?</p><p>The lack of ribs? Or internal bleeding?</p><p>It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter at all how she died because either way, she died and oh it was all her fault because she was stupid and didn’t just go and tell her parents about the new changes. Now they were going to lose their little girl and it was all to magical bodily changes but they wouldn’t know that because she never said.</p><p>How long would it take for her body to be found?</p><p>She didn’t know, and in the end, it too didn’t matter, because the pain, hot and searing agony, left her mind blank, screams now freely escaping her mouth, cries and calls for “Tikki! Tikki! Please make it stop! Please!” echoing within the glass of the greenhouse.</p><p>The kwami, having gone to some other flowers had come zooming to her charge and froze at the sight of her, because she didn’t know what was happening, didn’t know how to help aside from letting the magic take its course. It wouldn’t kill its user so easily and Tikki didn’t know what would happen to Marinette if she took out the earrings.</p><p>It was a surprise that no one came running at the sound of blood curdling fear and pain.</p><p>Half of the shards of bone slid through Marinette to her sides, the other moving as if to recreate the vague shape of ribs, though much smaller than before.</p><p>Suddenly, the bones started to mend themselves, forming ribs that tightly hugged her organs but didn’t leave her feeling suffocated like before as it seems that the shattered bones had torn off a great amount of tissue, leaving the organs aside from her heart smaller than before. Her pelvic bone smoothed from the edges it had gained when some of the bone broke off from it.</p><p>The other half of her bones formed two lines on the sides of her torso, the extra tissue changing as it moved to join the newly formed bones.</p><p>Her body settled for a short period and Marinette felt as if she could finally breath again, the pain, although still there, had quickly lessened to that of a dull throb that left her feeling as bone weary as the time she had gained her wings.</p><p>She wondered why her body had just gone through what it did, what could she possibly gain from her body crushing itself into a thinner state.</p><p>Marinette soon received her answer and wished she hadn’t asked.</p><p>Another round of heat tore through her tired and sweaty body, the screams clawing from her sore throat once more.</p><p>The new bones in her sides moved.</p><p>Slowly at first, but then it started to pull against her skin, the meagre thing separating her soft fragile insides from the world beyond, pulling out, and Marinette could feel the telltale signs of new nerves, new muscles.</p><p>They screamed at her along with the skin of her sides and she echoed their sound of tearing flesh with one of her own.</p><p>Her skin stretched against the new bones as they were pulled out, and then it started to rip before acting like liquid glue as holes opened up.</p><p>The bones continued to pull, breaking her new bra and pants from about the hip area.</p><p>Finally, with a wet snap, the skin separated, some around the new and free bones, some still clinging to her torso. </p><p>Her skin curled in on itself, swallowing up the holes in new, fresh, and smooth skin. </p><p>On her new… she didn’t know what they were, the skin wrapped itself about the bones that had a layer of muscle and tissue already. </p><p>The pain slowly abated though Marinette was till breathless, and she watched in tired, morbid fascination as the two new <em> things </em>slowly became an unidentifiable blob before lines and creases formed. </p><p>At the end of each thing, there were five creases in an odd shape that started to move, slowly stretching apart, the skin reforming around each of the digits. </p><p>Finally, at the end of the glue-like glossy skin changes, Marinette knew what had just been made.</p><p>She stared at the new set of hands held before her.</p><p>They were slim, smaller than her original set, and shorter too. They seemed far more flexible, likely able to bend in ways that shouldn’t be possible.</p><p>But despite how fragile they looked, Marinette knew that they were extremely strong, if not for the innate sense of their ability, then she could at least tell by the way they <em> literally </em> tore out of her body, breaking skin so easily. </p><p>Where they began from, it seems, was a bit below her original set of arms. </p><p>She sat there in tired awe at the new appendages for several minutes, watching as they moved how she directed them, getting used to the new feeling, before her mind finally caught up. </p><p>How…</p><p>How was she supposed to <em> hide </em> this?</p><p>She couldn’t just not, but how was she to hide it? </p><p>For the first time since the changes began, Marinette truly started to freak out, her mind still on overdrive from the previous pain. Her breathing kicked up a notch again.</p><p>Everything else so far was rather small changes, changes that weren’t easily noticeable if you you weren’t paying the closest attention and even though her wings were large, there was a place to hide them. </p><p>She didn’t know how to hide another set of hands.</p><p>Everyone- everyone accepted her wings readily, yes, but that was because most of them thought it was just part of the costume, part of the magic, because nobody had shown up with wings. What if they knew they were real? </p><p>What would they think of her new appendages? </p><p>Surely, surely they’ll be afraid and call her <em> “monster.” </em></p><p>Maybe she’d be lucky if her fans concluded it was just another part of the costume, but it’d still likely be highly controversial, not to mention the sort of response she’d get if she couldn’t figure out how to <em> hide them. </em></p><p>Ah, if she can’t hide them, her family and friends will be in danger, but what would they think of her? </p><p>Would they see her any less now that she definitely was not what someone would call human?</p><p>What about Adrien?</p><p>Would he be able to accept her as she is? Would his kind heart be able to love this poor monster?</p><p>She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure if it could ever be more than pity. </p><p>…</p><p>She didn’t want to find out.</p><p>Tears spilled over her freckled cheeks, her bluebell eyes one of the few things to not have been changed. A sob escaped her sore throat, wracking her tired body as she realized the weight of those words.</p><p>Tikki floated nearby, unsure of what to say to help her charge feel better because she wasn’t sure what Marinette was thinking.</p><p>Usually she could get an idea, but not tonight, and she was sure some of it was her lack of human sense. </p><p>Marinette pressed her first set of hands to her face to hide her shame and fear, to hide the world away, her second set pushing her up into an upright position before she pulled herself to lean against a pot. Then she wrapped her second set of hands around her thin and smaller torso. </p><p>She was sure she looked ugly now.</p><p>The tears and sobs increased with that thought.</p><p>Marinette had to give up on Adrien.</p><p>There was no way that they could be together now, maybe no way she could be with <em> anyone </em>now.</p><p>She was alone.</p><p>All alone, a monster.</p><p>Where could she go?</p><p>Nowhere.</p><p>So she had to stay and try to hide who she was.</p><p>Never let go of a <em> facade </em>.</p><p>Her heart ached.</p><p>She needed to let him go because there was no possibility.</p><p>She had to let go of her hope.</p><p>Had to let go of the idea she could ever truly fit in anywhere.</p><p>She was a monster now.</p><p>Marinette was a monster.</p><p>And nobody could ever love a monster outside of fairy tales.</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette stumbled into her room through her balcony and crashed straight onto her bed, so tired from the events of the day, and released her transformation.</p><p>The soft blankets of her bed greeted her almost naked body kindly.</p><p>Her new hands had sort of destroyed her previous clothes except for her shirt since she had taken it off to stretch her wings just before she’d been broken.</p><p>She was tired.</p><p>Mentally, physically, emotionally.</p><p>Everything still hurt.</p><p>She sighed into her pillow, then reluctantly used her four hands to push herself up and used her right hands to pull away the covers before slipping beneath them.</p><p>She was sticky from sweat and some of the small amount of dirt from the greenhouse floor clung to her skin but she was too tired to take a shower. She’d deal with it tomorrow.</p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette regretted putting it off till tomorrow. </p><p>She woke to her fifth alarm and realized that today was a school day… which meant she had school… and she needed to take a shower and determine how to hide these extra arms.</p><p>Crap.</p><p>She hadn’t even been awake for a minute yet and she was already spiraling. </p><p>Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she focused on one objective for the time being. First, she needed a shower.</p><p>It turns out showers are much faster when you have four arms.</p><p>Go figure.</p><p>Stumbling out of the bathroom, one set of arms beneath a towel and the other drying her sensitive hair as fast and gentle as possible with another towel, she headed for her dresser to put on one of her new bras… before realizing she now had to face her second problem.</p><p>The towel dropped from her head and she pulled the one around her body away from her to get a good look at her torso and hands. </p><p>Her hands, while hanging there, seemed to line perfectly with the sides of her body and her hips now jutted out sharply just beneath the reach of her new fingers.</p><p>It looked like they could possibly be puzzle pieces. </p><p>Slowly, watching as she did so, she pulled her arms in and up against her side. </p><p>They fit. </p><p>A mucus like membrane oozed out her skin to fill the cracks between her sides and arms, her fingers looking as if they gained webbing before the glue like substance smoothed out the indents of her fingers, making them barely visible. The only telling sign they were there at all were the ten small fingernails that blended in well with the rest of her body.</p><p>She looked herself in the mirror and was surprised. </p><p>Her body looked almost as if nothing had changed. As if she <em> hadn’t </em> just gotten two new <em> limbs </em>.</p><p>She realized she was bound to get cramps and feel the need to stretch every so often seeing how she won’t be able to move the new arms around as much and will likely have to keep them stuck like that, tied down beneath clothes, til she got home, but she could hide them.</p><p>
  <em> She could hide them. </em>
</p><p>Quickly, relieved, she got about to her morning routine and was able to rush out the door and get to class barely on time. </p><p>&lt;◉&gt;</p><p>Marinette began to get used to her new arms, the new changes, all of it, though never once did her fear of being rejected by those around her disappear.</p><p>She was grateful that all the changes had been compact, easy to hide within herself, even if she had had to go through hell for it.</p><p>She was also thankful that most people, when they saw her arms and emaciated looking body, believed it was part of the magic, the illusion, better to hide her identity. It took awhile for others to accept the change while some jumped right on board, excited about it, and still more refused to even acknowledge her now. But it was fine, she was expecting it, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t had haters before this, there was just more now.</p><p>She was scared of what they’d think if they knew it was all real. </p><p>Marinette was no idiot, she knew of discrimation simply for one’s skin color or status of wealth, so what happens when you’re not even quite human anymore?</p><p>Most of the trust and adoration she still held came from the fact that she had originally looked more like them than the monsters she faces. If she had always been like this, if her changes showed more, she would have been hated, begrudgingly accepted for the sole purpose of saving the ungrateful, and she knew she would have done so even if they didn’t want her. People would rather have a monster on their side saving them than a disaster. Doesn’t mean they’d like her, just that she’d be the lesser evil.</p><p>She remained slightly nervous around those she loved and cared about, feeling as if they’d find out at any moment and dislike her, her antennae hair twitching and twisting minutely.</p><p>She supposed she was just waiting for the last shoe to drop and her life to become miserable.</p><p>At… at the very least, she’d still have Chat if it all fell apart.</p><p>Chat, her wonderful <em> minou </em> , had geeked out the first time she showed up with her new arms and asked her all sorts of questions, eyes glittering in interest… or perhaps they were <em> actually </em>glittering, she wasn’t sure. They were lucky that the next day had been a shared patrol so that he wasn’t this distracted in battle.</p><p>He asked if they were real and not magic and what she could do with them. When she told him they were real, he asked if it stayed in this form or if she had them all the time now.</p><p>Chat had looked so horrified to hear that they were constant, knowing it must be extremely hard to hide them, she was lucky it wasn’t so bad though. She was happy he was worried about her.</p><p>When he had asked about how she got them and she refused to answer, he gratefully backed off and didn’t bring it up again, even though she knew he was dying of curiosity. </p><p>Heh.</p><p>A cat dying of curiosity.</p><p>She doubted the answer would really satisfy him enough to bring him back.</p><p>He treated her normally. Even after finding out about all the changes, he still treated her like a <em> human </em> and not the monster she so visibly was, and she was <em> so grateful </em> for that.</p><p>As she thought about Chat, she realized that he had started to act strange lately. Recently, when they needed to locate each other, Chat could find her with pin point accuracy and when she asked, he had forgotten his baton had a tracking feature. He’d looked a little embarrassed at the time.</p><p>Something strange was happening to him too. </p><p>Was… was he also…?</p><p>Oh, oh heavens, he had to go through his own transformation too now. </p><p>Her world spun cruelly.</p><p>He too would have to face pain and inconvenience and the fact that he could very well turn out to be more monster than human. </p><p>How far would his transformation take him?</p><p>If she believed Tikki about how close Plagg and Chat were, then likely just as far, just as deep, as her transformations. </p><p>She promised herself she’d be there for him when it happened then.</p><p>Just as he is for her.</p><p>She couldn’t stop this one, he was the only Chat Noir and he was irreplaceable, but she could prevent pain to her other comrades. </p><p>She could keep her classmates from facing her new reality.</p><p>It would be hard facing Hawkmoth without them because she’d be trying to keep their contact with the Miraculous as little as possible, but it would be better than them having to go through something like this.</p><p>Nonetheless, she knew she would still have to rely on them.</p><p>All she could say to them now was:</p><p>“Are you willing to become a monster?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you all for taking the time to read this! I know it was really long.</p><p>Next chapter will follow Adrien and after that the chapters will be about Alya, then Nino, then Chloé.<br/>I hope you all look forward to it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Eight Lives Left</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“S-so you’re saying that we’re… becoming even less human?” <br/>Plagg merely cackled and turned away, back to his show, to let the kid think about it on his own. <br/>Angled away from Adrien so that the boy could no longer see his expression, his smile dropped into a contemplative frown. <br/>He just hoped that his kid wasn’t hit with anything too hard or tough to hide. He was a model after all.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am terribly sorry! I had wanted to get this entire work done before today but I struggled with this chapter. At least it's long I guess. 14K words long.<br/>I will <i>not</i> be dropping this fic, however it likely won't get done for a long time. <br/>This chapter has gone, so far, unedited for the most part because I <i>really</i> wanted to get it out today so there might be changes later. <br/>I hope you all enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Adrien was sitting at his desk, ready for school as always, when a scent so unbelievably good invaded his nose and took over his mind like a storm. He felt as if he was on cloud nine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes snapped to the source of the glorious smell, who had just walked past him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared back at him in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted nothing more than to run up, hug her, and maybe rub himself all over her in order to get the smell on him too so that he could take it everywhere, but he couldn’t do that because that would be really weird and honestly this entire thought process was weird so he tried to control himself, keep his hands to himself and calm his beating heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was incredibly hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh she’s looking at him still, he ought to say something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened his mouth but nothing would come out, his mind still swimming in the heavenly scent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Adrien?” she stammered, creases forming between her slim eyebrows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The use of his name seemed to carry a heavy weight that cut through the fog of his mind and he was now more in control of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face felt hot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nino leaned over, “Hey, dude, you okay there?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He nodded, “Y-yeah, just…” his gaze found Marinette’s once more before he dropped it to his lap, unable to continue looking at her after the sudden desire that still simmered beneath his skin. He shifted nervously and fiddled with his hands in hopes that the small action would be enough to stave the want off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His lip found it’s way between his teeth as he thought of what to say but wasn’t sure if it’d be okay to ask. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a wonderful scent and he wanted to smell it often, so maybe he could buy some himself, but he didn’t know how to go about asking what it was. Maybe a simple opener? Like asking if she got a new perfume recently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waited patiently for him to pull himself together. Finally he decided to just go for it. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Um, Marinette, did you, uh, get a new perfume or something?” His nerves struck him as he continued to talk. He scratched at the back of his neck, a nervous gesture he honestly needed to fix but couldn’t find the motivation to do so. His eyes found their way to his lap again and his voice lost some of its volume, almost coming out as a whisper at the end, “You, uh, you smell nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh gosh, he shouldn’t have asked, there was an awkward silence and even though he was already pretty socially awkward, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew that this was a new low. He waited anxiously for the judgement, though he really shouldn’t have, knowing Marinette’s personality.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no, I haven’t.” She said after a time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-oh.” She didn’t get a new perfume? Then- then he </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>must’ve made it awkward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh gosh, why did he have to go and open his mouth?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you… for the compliment, I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snapped back to the bluebell of her eyes, surprised that she took his words so well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was smiling at him, it was a rather beautiful smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wondered why he’d never noticed before, but when he thought about it, he realized that he probably has but it just didn’t stick so strongly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette really was such a wonderful person, so very kind and beautiful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re welcome.” He managed to say beneath the warmth of her gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In hindsight, Adrien was pretty sure that it was this event that heralded the changes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, Adrien always sort of </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>where Marinette was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s awkward to admit but… he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>smell </span>
  </em>
  <span>her. He could smell so much now but her scent was the strongest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was grounding in a way nothing else was. It soothed and calmed and always made him feel a bit better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scent was sweet as sugar and spiced with cinnamon with the most ripe of roses and something undeniably </span>
  <em>
    <span>Marinette</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was on all accounts </span>
  <em>
    <span>warm</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as time went on, only one other had a scent as wondrous as Marinette’s, his </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lady</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His Lady, too, smelled of roses, but peonies as well, sweet and spicy so like Marinette in such a different way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to think more on that, allow himself to think of why they were so… but he couldn’t let himself. His Lady didn’t want him thinking of such things so he wouldn’t. It was almost debilitating how </span>
  <em>
    <span>loyal </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was to his Lady. He was lucky enough she would never abuse it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something else Adrien began to notice was that his “night vision” had been getting better recently. He could see in even dimmer lighting than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One night, he had taken a shower in complete darkness before realizing in his tiredness he hadn’t turned on the light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he got out of the shower that night, the only reason he noticed the dark, was when he had glanced over to his reflection and almost jumped out of his skin when gleaming eyes peered back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning this way and that, he took note of the wide dark circles within his eyes, the way they reflected light when it hit them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes looked like they were glowing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a quick online search, he learned that he now had tapetum lucidum, something only found in animals, something found in </span>
  <em>
    <span>cats</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What came with the tapetum lucidum was spiked pupils, the same as a cat’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t noticed </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>change until a little while after finding he could walk from a dark room to bright lights without flinching or taking so long to adjust now. Apparently that also had to do with the way his eyes could narrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until he started confusing red with green every now and then that he turned to Plagg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the heck is happening to me Plagg?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, he already had cattish traits form early on in his heroing career, apparently more than Ladybug had gotten from her powers, except for the new wings of course and weren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>those </span>
  </em>
  <span>cool?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thinking about that, Adrien was starting to have an idea as to what was going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?” Plagg turned lazily in the air from where he had been watching some show on the tv while eating a slice of cheese. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then his half lidded eyes fell on Adrien and they brightened considerably. “Oh hey kid! You’re close enough to me to get the eyes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien looked at his companion in bewilderment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plagg took a second to gulp down the rest of the camembert in hand and turned upside down with the biggest cheshire cat grin Adrien had ever seen, his eyes turning into glowing acidic crescent moons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You saw Bug’s wings right?” Adrien nodded slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah well those are real and guess what that means for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plagg watched on with glee as Adrien’s eyes widened comically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S-so you’re saying that we’re… becoming even less human?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plagg merely cackled and turned away, back to his show, to let the kid think about it on his own. He was the kwami of destruction, that meant that he of course loved discord. So he’d let the kid ruminate and come to his own conclusions and watch on with great amusement should Adrien get any more changes. He didn’t think there’d be too much, but then he remembered Tikki’s little bug and thought a bit better of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she was that close to Pigtails then Adrien would definitely get strong changes due to how close they were too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Angled away from Adrien so that the boy could no longer see his expression, his smile dropped into a contemplative frown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just hoped that his kid wasn’t hit with anything too hard or tough to hide. He was a model after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette, Adrien had noticed, had become rather pale lately, almost sickly, and her breathing was constantly shallow and labored, her gait pained and shoulders vaguely hunched. It worried him to no end that his friend was obviously in so much pain and yet she spoke no word of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he had last asked after her, she had turned him away with a wobbly smile and an “I’m fine.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sure she knew he didn’t believe her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Over time, Adrien observed his friend breathe better, and he watched as everyone turned their worried gaze away in relief when her pallor got better and she didn’t look like she was suffocating because, as it seemed, no one besides him noticed the slight stiffness to her shoulders, the way she still shrunk in on herself. It wasn’t as easy to see as before, so perhaps now that she could breathe, she had gotten better at hiding it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he knew she was still hurting and so he felt just the slightest bit bitter that everyone seemed to not notice it. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He shoved the thought away. After all, he did know she was still in pain, and he did nothing about it. He wasn’t really sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do about it really. He knew that if he asked about it, she’d turn him away like before and he didn’t know what exactly her ailment was so it wasn’t like he could get her help either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, he didn’t have to fret over his inaction for long because one day, the tension between her shoulders disappeared and she carried herself with more ease. It seems as if the pain was gone now. The only thing new now was this sense of nervousness. She had always been a bit skittish, at least around him, but this was different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Over the past few months or so, Marinette had seemed overly aware of everyone’s movements and was constantly keeping to herself, shying from most friendly physical contact and completely avoiding accidental. She was practically a ballerina in crowds with how seamlessly she wove through them without anyone touching her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now she also had this… aura of fear. As if she was hiding something incredibly important on her at all times and she was afraid to let anyone find it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien started wondering if he was either looking into things too much, or maybe looking into</span>
  <em>
    <span> Marinette</span>
  </em>
  <span> too much since it seemed not even Alya had picked any of his observations up. Maybe it was a combination of both and he was watching her too much </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> making stuff up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>About this time, Ladybug had shown up with a second set of arms. And those were as cool or even cooler than the wings! Adrien wondered if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’d </span>
  </em>
  <span>get something so amazing out of this transformation stuff. Then again, thinking a bit more on it, his Lady hadn’t seemed the happiest with them and refused to talk about how she got them, so it wasn’t a pleasant experience and Adrien was a model, which required showing off a lot of skin and meant that having something like another set of arms would be very bad for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien thought of a cat’s tail. Yeah, he really hoped he wouldn’t be getting another appendage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir was stretching his back in curious wonder on a roof the night after an akuma attack as he waited for his Lady to show up when the devil herself approached him in all her winged, four armed glory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Recently, he’d felt as if he could stretch farther than normal and had begun to feel the distinct need to curl up in small spots. He rubbed at his collar bones, which had been feeling a bit tender lately, as he listened to what his Lady was asking him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I was curious about something.” She tilted her head a little to the side so sweetly his heart threatened to leap out of his throat. “How did you manage to have the time to use your baton to find me in earlier’s battle?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The question surprised him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t even thought of using the baton. In all honesty, he’d completely forgotten about that feature, because lately he’d been relying more on his heightened sense of smell and sight. His face heated at the thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was </span>
  <em>
    <span>no way</span>
  </em>
  <span> he was gonna tell her he’d found her by her scent. No, that was creepy… and stalkerish…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien didn’t like stalkers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t a stalker though! He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> use his sense of smell like that! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though he knew that, it didn’t stop the hot shame pooling in his stomach. He tried his best not to scuff his shoes against the rooftop and fiddle about nervously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned a little with a hum in a way that he hoped was casual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I actually forgot we had the tracking ability on our weapons,” He spoke honestly. “I just, was so focused on searching for you, I found you, that’s all.” He turned back to her in hopes that he’d hidden the blush away, or that if he hadn’t the darkness of night </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged to her as nonchalantly as possible, “Lucky break, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ladybug hummed an answer before turning in the direction of where they would take tonight’s patrol.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright then, let’s get to patrol.” She stretched all four hands, then the piece on her back opened up and let her wings free.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chat followed her swift form as it did a mixture of swinging and flying through the city. She said she still liked the feeling of using her yoyo and that was why she didn’t just fly all the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could only hope he handled the conversation well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GAH!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the shout should have come a clatter and splash, but thankfully, Marinette had caught the thermos over the desk with wide eyes. How she had managed to lunge that fast was lost to Adrien but he wasn’t thinking about that at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was quick to leave her seat fully and come to his side. “I-I’m so sorry, A-Adrien!” Her hands fluttered about the air around him like a worried mother’s to her child. “I t-thought it was cool e-enough to dr-rink!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien held a hand over his mouth, wherein lie a burnt tongue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette had brought him a thermos of hot chocolate for him as she had started doing for him when he’d been checked out early for a photoshoot during the cold months as that usually meant his schedule had been packed full that day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had gratefully accepted it, it was one of the things he looked forward to when he was recovering from exhaustion brought about by busy schedules, and as normal, he had quickly taken a swig, which resulted in scalding and surprising him into shouting and dropping the precious cup of warm goodness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had been even stranger than having his tongue burn was the fact that when he had hurriedly swallowed to get the liquid off his tongue was that it hadn’t burned all the way down too. In fact, it had felt like it always did, liquid heaven warmly sinking into his stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright, Marinette!” He waved his hands back in forth in a disarming manner. “I’m okay, just a little startled.” He smiled to her, a smile he never realized was purely for her, soft and sweet as taffy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully it calmed the raven haired girl and he was allowed his hot chocolate back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As class started, he looked at the thermos warily. He wanted to drink more, but it had burned him. Maybe it had cooled enough?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tested the waters- ahem, </span>
  <em>
    <span>coco</span>
  </em>
  <span>- and found it at the perfect temperature. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Strange, as it had only been a minute ago that he’d scorched his tongue with the very drink he was now holding. He knew that, logically, even with all his hope, there should have in no way been enough time for it to cool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue, the burnt appendage scratching softly at the roof of his mouth, as he stared at the offending drink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just what sort of sorcery was on this cup?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt; </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, Adrien continued to burn his tongue on things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes the food or drink would quickly be the proper temperature when he tried again and other times it would continue to be too hot for him anywhere from half an hour to a whole hour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frustrated, he fell to his bed in exasperation and pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Plaaaaaagg,” he whined, “What’s happening to meeeee.” His tongue scraped lightly across the roof of his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Said kwami sighed long sufferingly from within the hidden cheese fridge besides his own little fridge. “Kiiiiiid, it’s just your tongue acting up. You’ve got human and cat tastebuds now, what do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> is gonna happen? Your body has to adjust and figure out how to handle it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien simply laid there for awhile, processing what it was his kwami had just told him, before bolting up in bed. “Cat tongue?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ran to his bathroom and stuck his tongue out-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>and to no one’s surprise but his, there are tons of small barbs on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>So </span>
  </em>
  <span>that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>what’s been catching in my mouth lately.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He thinks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He runs his fingers over the slightly flexible things. It feels like sandpaper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knowing Plagg wouldn’t help him figure out what these were, he turned to the internet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Papillae.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Made of keratin. Used for grooming and keeping the body cool beneath the fur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien stared at his phone in disbelief, “Wait, so, I’m going to end up getting fur? As in, black cat fur?” He dropped his phone that was on the lowest possible brightness setting on his bed in shock. “Shhhi- how the heck am I going to hide fur??????”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He followed his phone’s path to the bed and collapsed on top of it, his teeth clacking together sharply which really sucked because lately his gums had been a bit sore and having them hit each other really didn’t help that feeling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh. This is gonna suck and be awesome isn’t it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could vaguely hear Plagg’s answering cackle somewhere behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well at least</span>
  <em>
    <span> someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> was enjoying this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will be having a small field trip next week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The class burst into excitement, shouts echoing throughout the room. Adrien hurried to block out the noise, putting his hands over his ears. His hearing had been a bit more acute lately, so having rambunctious kids shouting and talking so loudly left his ears in pain. He pressed his palms as flat against his head as possible, eyes squeezed shut as he waited for the sound to settle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, it quieted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With hesitance, Adrien pulled his hands from his ears, but frowned at the wet feeling against the side of his head. He brought one of his hands down to find blood on it. Was the noise really so loud that his eardrum burst? But then he noticed the other liquid with the blood. It was thick and runny at the same time, sticky in a way that stuck and stretched when he pinched his fingers together and then pulled them apart, glue-like, but not white. Instead it had the same color as his skin. Carefully, he brought his fingers back to the ear he’d been covering just moments ago, only to find the ear still pressed against his skull and losing definition. The ridges of cartilage melting into his head. There was no holes where there should have been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes widened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Change. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was undergoing a change, he knew, because nothing else would make his body do something so strange. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was changing in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>middle of class</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes snapped up to the teacher. Without showing the blood and something-else, he raised his hand and cut off whatever Mlle Bustier was saying. “May I go to the restroom?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got up immediately after, not waiting for an answer. He wouldn’t be able to hear it anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ran straight for the bathroom, missing the way certain bluebell eyes narrowed and watched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment he was through the bathroom door, he slammed it shut and leaned against it, one of his bloody hands reaching to lock the door, feeling the click more than hearing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knowing that he was in as private of a space as possible, he dashed for the mirror, hands leaving a bloody trail on the edges of the white sink as he leaned against it to bring himself closer to the mirror. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sides of his head was throbbing and his eardrums hurt from the lack of sound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Holding blond locks of hair up, he saw the now mound like thing his ears had turned into. Horror that he had just lost his ears with no knowledge of getting them back struck through his veins like a sledgehammer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What was happening to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then it moved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It stretched up, up, up, below his hair and into his scalp and all he could feel as it slid against his skull was a feeling of something writhing beneath. There was no pain aside from the muddled bunches of nerves that were moving with the mound. Not yet at least.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As it got closer to the top of his head, it stopped, as if struggling, and then Adrien knew pain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt as if someone or something was pressing into his skull, threatening to cave it in and smash it to pieces, leave it a bloody mess of gray matter and bone across the bathroom tile for an unfortunate victim to find. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He bit back a scream as it continued to press in, his brain being squeezed when it already had so little space within. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His knees buckled and threatened to go out beneath him, unable to hold his weight when he was fighting to function against pain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought that perhaps it would finally break and cave in, but to his surprise, it became softer and allowed itself to be pushed like it was putty, falling in just slightly but barely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mounds, satisfied with how his skull has allowed it to further its progress, continued up just a bit more, until finally settling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien waited with bated breath for whatever was to come next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a few moments, but it eventually did come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a terrible ripping sound that he could not hear and suddenly all of his breath escaped him in a sharp gasp, for two crescent shaped cuts had just torn through Adrien’s scalp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like a dagger, quick and swift, cartilage rose from the cuts, constructing itself as it went. Skeletal and white, it stood from his blond hair, blood and flesh staying beneath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shaky fingers find their way to the left one, wide green eyes staring back in terror. The other hand slowly reaching for the opposite skeleton of an ear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thin strings of muscles rose to wrap themselves loosely around the cartilage, but it looked like far too little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien’s lunch stirred within his gut, rising up his throat and burning the back of it with its acid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The stirring got even worse when he felt a tug at his forearms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something tore from within, muscles breaking apart along his forearms. Not much, but enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien, aware of where he was with the help of Plagg scratching lightly at his chest from his pocket, bit back the scream that clawed at his throat. Blood coated his lips and the inside of his mouth, recently sharpened teeth piercing the soft flesh of his lips with ease and covering his tongue in liquid iron. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A strangled sound still managed to escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The skin of his arms broke and red string fled quickly up to his fingers before the skin sewed itself back up seamlessly, as if nothing had happened. The only evidence that he’d lost any muscle mass there was the way his forearms looked thinner than before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Writing quickly during lessons to take notes was going to be hell for the next few days, that’s for sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The strings of muscle wound up his arms and fingers and practically leapt from them to his ears. They tied themselves neatly into place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that there was the proper amount of muscle, flesh and blood painted the red strings and cartilage in thin layers of deeper reds until the novel ears were completely covered in the paleness of new skin, the pain finally alleviating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien sat there gasping for a few moments before darting to the toilet bowl of an open stall. Sound bouncing off the walls of the empty bathroom and scratching at his ears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he finally was able to pull himself from his expelled lunch, he looked back into the mirror just in time to see short threads of black hair grow from the new skin and coat his cold, naked ears in warmth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the hair came a new sense of self, of where exactly his body was in relation to </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>around him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If the sudden cacophony of noise wasn’t nauseating, this was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, Adrien had gotten used to a certain level of heightened hearing, it came with being Chat Noir, but this? This was hell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could hear everything within the school and even a little ways outside it. The normally almost silent creak of floors, the clang of feet on the stairs, the water rushing through the pipes to meet the needs of those requesting it, the lecture that he was missing and many others, the soft chatter of students who think they’re sneaky but really aren’t, Principal Damocles’s snores as he napped at his desk, someone’s music from their earbuds, the sound of cars as they thrummed past, laughter of young children running across the sidewalk. So much. He could hear so. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Much</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he had to deal with his mind screaming at him that he wasn’t balanced. He was tilted and he needed to be upright because the ground was right there and was coming for him, or he was coming for it. It didn’t matter which one it was, it would hurt to fall while he isn’t prepared to take it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He isn’t prepared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His already shaky knees failed and hit the tile harshly and he was falling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The need to right himself kicked in painfully and his hands shot out to catch himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He lowered himself slowly to the tile, to place his forehead against the coolness it owned and let it ground him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heavy breaths escaped his mouth and they really weren’t helping with his sensory overload. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His ears continued to twitch atop his head, unable to pick what to focus on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t handle this. It was exhausting. Why couldn’t the world shut up for a bit?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mind started to slip, pushing itself away from the mess of his body and it felt as if he was watching his pain in third person. He felt so tired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cool tiles of the floor called to his worn mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly he lowered himself to it and laid almost fetal, just working to get his mind back online, to breathe, to filter all that he heard and adjust. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a fruitless attempt to block all else out, a purr rumbled from within, worrying Plagg, but Adrien wouldn’t know that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t be sure how long he laid there fighting to get his traitorous body under control when the lock on the door clicked open and the door was gently pushed in. He didn’t think of how that could have happened either, with how the janitor was on the other side of the building, humming a jaunty tune. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adrien?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His purr stuttered to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was soft. Soft and sweet and the thing he most wanted to hear and a sound that shouldn’t be here. He didn’t remember why it shouldn’t be here. Didn’t remember gender limits, because that voice and scent meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>safety</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Don’t ever let it be said that Marinette didn’t care for Adrien. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even after letting go of her religious tracking of him and his schedule without his knowledge, she was quick to pick up his small tells and could deduce when his schedule would become rough from her years of paying attention to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And even if she told herself she could not love him anymore, it was one thing to say something and another to do it. Despite the fact that she knew their love was destined for ruin and despite the fact that she was now coming to care for Chat, she still cared greatly for Adrien and still paid attention to his state of wellbeing. Actually, perhaps it was her greater attention to Chat that she had started to focus more on Adrien.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew identities had to be secret, however she also knew the pain of transformations and how lonely they can make you feel. She’d also promised to be there for her </span>
  <em>
    <span>minou</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and if learning who Chat was meant she could keep that promise, she would gladly break the boundary of secret identities. Should Hawkmoth learn of their identities because of this breach, so be it, she’d deal with it when it came up, but it would be far harder to hide themselves on their own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was this thought process and a small suspicion of behavior that brought her to the boys’ bathroom nearly forty minutes after Adrien had run from the classmate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gently tried the door to find it locked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tikki?” she whispered to her purse. Said kwami phased through the pink fabric, nodded in solemn understanding, a sign that she supported Marinette’s decision, which was a relief, and then unlocked the door before returning to her place in Marinette’s purse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With focused awareness, she propped the door open a little, taking a small, nervous step in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adrien?” she shut the door and locked it once more, her hand brushing across something dry and rough that came off when she touched it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quiet whimper was her only response. It set her nerves on edge and before she knew it, she was rushing around the corner into the main section of the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette was greeted with the sight of her friend, and now quite obviously partner, crumpled in a pile on the tile, bile on his lips, dried blood in his blond hair next to the new black ears, trailing down his neck, on his fingertips, collected in splotches around his prone body, and in browning scarlet handprints on the sink next to him. In short, she saw a mess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon chaton</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She could cry at how terrible he looked. She was pretty sure she actually was crying, at least a few tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran to her beloved who had barely made a move out of sheer pain and exhaustion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without even making the conscious decision, her extra set of hands had slipped themselves out of the confines known as clothes and had appeared to help pull him close, shoving her shirt up and causing her bra to become loose around the waist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kneeling beside his head, her four hands wrapped around Adrien and pulled him up onto her lap and further so that his head was resting against her chest, close to her heartbeat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound, the feeling, seemed to ease Adrien, a content purr starting up, his black ears not twitching as much as before, his half lidded eyes closing finally under the weight of his experience, which made Marinette worry more, because this likely wasn’t the end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Using her second left hand, she got to cleaning up the mess of blood. It would be bad if someone came in later and saw it. There would be a panic. She kept Adrien held tightly and securely in her other three arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the mess was sufficiently cleased, Marinette ran through all her options.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t go home. Not like this, and he couldn’t continue the rest of the school day, nor could he go to the nurse’s office. What should she do? Adrien is in a much harder space than her and his changes are even more visible than hers, not as hideable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had to get out of here, that, she knew for sure, but she also had to think of consequences. If she was too hasty, she could make things worse for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes skated to the window and she found that even though this was a terrible idea, she couldn’t pull them from the light that was just beyond that glass, the house that was inevitably a few blocks down, a place that was quiet and safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is a bad idea.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She tried to reason with herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But what else can you do?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette found she could not answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Piecing together a malformed idea, Marinette shifted Adrien till he was held bridal style in her four arms and stood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took steady steps, unaffected whatsoever by the weight of a person, of his future that she was now taking into her hands. She was steeled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her second right hand slipped from beneath his legs and slid the relatively small window open. It was big enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Within moments, she had climbed outside and the elytra on her back raised, pushing her shirt farther up, but that didn’t much matter. She was still covered and nobody would be seeing her anyways. The wings that she had finally grown into lifted into the air, firm despite their fragility, able to carry worlds of feeling. They quivered only slightly, itching to be used, to be able to help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette flew swiftly and silently, sticking close to the rooves, careful of being witnessed. It was a matter of seconds before she was on her balcony, her great wings settling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was careful to open the hatch to her room and lower the sleeping Adrien onto her bed, but she did not follow. She had to do a bit more before she could come back. Her head was already pointed back, her bluebell narrowed and focused on the school as if it were another akuma she had to face. They only flickered back to the form of her beloved when she noticed the shifting of an inner chest pocket. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plagg.” the moving stopped with a jolt. “I’m the one who found out, there’s no need to fear Tikki.” A familiar little black thing crawled out and sat on his charge’s chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keh, I wasn’t afraid of sugar cube. Nope, not me.” He feigns courage, little arms folded defiantly against his chest, his green eyes, so similar to Adrien’s now, shut tight and directed away from her. Marinette smiles softly, tiredness edging it. A near quiet sigh escapes her before she has time to think of it. “Take care of him while I’m gone okay?” Plagg’s head snapped back up to her in offence. “You think I wouldn’t?! He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>kit.” He grumbles the last part, turning to gaze at his ward’s still pained expression, even though it was more relaxed now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette stifles a giggle of fondness. She hadn’t ever really had the chance to get to know the kwami of destruction, but from what she had seen with the small snippets of time, she rather liked him, and even though Tikki didn’t say it and often pretended otherwise, Marinette knew she too loved the cat. Speaking of Tikki-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tikki?” she whispered to the purse still hanging at her side. The small being of creation slipped out. “Yes?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think you could look after them for me?” Her little face scrunched in reluctance and Marinette fought back a smile. “Can’t have Plagg making a mess of my room now can we?” Tikki’s expression smoothed out with that and she nodded with a small huff before floating down to the hatch, but before either could leave, Tikki’s brilliantly blue eyes, so similar to Marinette’s own that she often wondered if Tikki had been human maybe they’d be related, pinned her with a resolution in her gaze that Marinette was sure she’d gotten from the little goddess after all their time spent together, “Be careful.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette nodded, “I will.” and they finally separated,  Tikki with her partner and Marinette beyond the boundary she’d placed between them, the hatch of her room, a flimsy protection for those within, but one nonetheless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Briskly, Marinette flew back to the school and landed in the boy’s bathroom again. Thankfully the classes were still in session because she had completely forgotten to unlock the door. She had few minutes left though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She straightened herself out, her wings folding back into her elytra, her second arms sliding underneath her bra and pants to settle smoothly against her sides, the glue-like substance already forming. She smoothed her shirt down, fiddled with her hair, it was helpful that it was actually antennae because she was sure they would look more mussed if it was normal hair, and checked herself over for any unusualness in the mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finding nothing, she slinked to the door, clicked it open, peered out to make sure no one was watching, and then slipped out, heading for her class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerves were building and making her small stomach twist in knots, but Marinette knew she couldn’t just sit outside the door forever, so with a deep breath and a run over her plan again, she stepped inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, all eyes were on her, especially the warm worried gazes of Alya and Nino and the sky blue concern of Chloe. It seems all of them knew that, with how long she was absent, she had gone to find Adrien. An easy conclusion when you thought of her normal behaviour for everyone and then remembered how much she cared for the blond. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette?” Her attention was brought to Mlle Bustier who was standing behind her desk, chalk in one hand and lesson plan in the other, “Do you have something to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cleared her throat as subtly as possible, straightened her shoulders, and steeled her eyes, knowing just how well the minute display of authority would help her cause and disway any argument or disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I found Adrien. He was sick.” It was a twisted truth, but a truth nonetheless and slipping truth in will strengthen her argument, provide less holes. “I took him to the nurse but she wasn’t there.” She didn’t, but she knew by now that the nurse was still out for lunch at this time. She lived a bit far and liked to eat with her family. The school had yet to find another nurse to fill in the gap of time she was absent but they weren’t taking it seriously. Marinette should know, she often was the one patching people up during this time. She was very familiar with the infirmary and where everything was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged off the constant lack of action. It wasn’t the first time the school was failing its students and it was helping her out now. She wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, no matter how dangerous it’s insides may be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette shakes away the incorrect use of the proverb and thoughts of large wooden horses gifted to Romans. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Focus</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’m taking him home.” She didn’t specify </span>
  <em>
    <span>whose</span>
  </em>
  <span> home she’s taking him to. Vagueness, Marinette finds, is rather helpful when lying. Because if you’re vague enough, you aren’t lying anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her tone was no nonsense, cold, and her gaze hard, daring </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> to fight her on this or say </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they continued to sit silently, sweating bullets, and even the teacher made no move to further respond, Marinette turned from the room and left, never noticing how everyone practically collapsed once her heavy presence had left them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt as if they were under the gaze of a predator and their bodies had frozen. Each of them agreed to never get in the way of Marinette when she was like this or get between her and Adrien. They were far too afraid of the consequences. Images of being torn apart and consumed floating into mind, shame filling their guts for even thinking of their kind friend like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A nervous and frightened tension held onto the class for the rest of the day. Whenever anyone looked at either Adrien’s or Marinette’s seat, they’d turn away so swiftly you’d think they were burned by the empty spaces, and when anybody asked after either of the two, they would shut down and refuse to respond. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel would hear nothing of this event and never know his son ever left school that day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Adrien finally woke up, he found himself comfortable and warm in a way he hadn’t been for years. Loose but soft clothes billowed around him and he was swallowed up in blankets and pillows that smelled of roses and sugar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A world of pink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a slow awakening. Soft and easy and comfortable. The type that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. Peaceful. The world came slowly into focus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His ears twitched as sound came back to him, but more controlled and not as suffocating, his brain having adjusted as he slept. There was humming down below, soft and sweet and </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe</span>
  </em>
  <span>, evening sun warming his skin with its wintery golden glow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt so soft, so comfortable that he couldn’t even bring himself to freak out about that. He should be home by now, but it didn’t matter because he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was safe here and things were taken care of, he somehow knew this for certain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned, the rustling of the bedding around him a pleasant sound. The humming stopped and he lamented it’s loss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plagg floated up from the glow of lamplight below to where he lay debating whether or not to fall back asleep. “Hey kid,” his voice was unusually mellow, “How’re ya feelin’?” He hummed a response through half lidded eyes. He could sleep here forever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad kid.” Adrien missed the way Plagg seemed to sag in relief. He floated back down but Adrien didn’t mind. He was still here, so it was fine. As long as he didn’t leave, it didn’t matter if he went somewhere else in the room.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The humming resumed, steady as before. It filled the room and helped fend off the stray sound from beyond the walls of pink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes began to droop once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The darkness of sleep welcomed him with caring arms, perhaps more than two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he awoke again, the lamplight was still there over the side of the bed, but it was far more prominent than before, accented by the silver of the moon that slipped through windows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a hand brushing his bangs to the side before reaching up to scratch lightly behind his ear, a purr rumbling from his throat in response. The owner of the hand was but a shadow against the light, sitting on the edge of the bed. The only thing he could discern was the bluebell eyes that sparkled in the dim world, catching the minimal light and shattering it in beautiful constellations across plush cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light from below gave a bit more definition to the figure of four arms, leading him to conclude that this was his Lady. He curled into her touch. She always knew exactly where to itch. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Adrien,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>her melodious voice called and kept him from once more sliding back into slumber. He forced his eyes open, to connect with hers, with the bluebell that haunted his day and night because he was sure of who owned them but too afraid to confirm. It was the worst possible gift the universe could give him, he supposed, loving Ladybug and wishing desperately for her to be Marinette. It was selfish and cruel of him to project his expectations on her like that, to both of the girls actually. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Marinette did not show signs of change, did not have beautiful black wings or another set of delicate arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The figure shifted, light illuminating her more properly and allowing Adrien to see who she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien thought the universe was laughing at him now, rubbing in how bad he wanted both these amazing girls, giving him dreams of his deepest wish, because this was obviously Marinette, Marinette of bluebell eyes and four arms, four hands to create far more wondrous things, and she was looking at him, her bluebell orbs that catch his heart and shatter it in the most fantastic of ways gazing so </span>
  <em>
    <span>lovingly</span>
  </em>
  <span> at him. Like her heart was full and she need nothing more than to be by his side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He never knew someone could look at him like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart sped but sleep still clung heavily to his limbs, weighing them down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to let them pull him back under, but she was still here, she didn’t want him to go back to sleep just yet and something was nagging at the back of his mind that he needs to keep his eyes open, so he’d try a bit more to pull himself from rest’s vestiges. However, the more he left behind the dregs of sleep, the more his thoughts turned dark and the nagging in the back of his head became a steady voice asking important questions. His heart began to stutter more from dread than love. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My Lady,” he breathed, green marbles flashing with fear, but bluebell did not shift from their constant affection, reassuring him more than he thought it would. “What- what am I to do now? These,” he slowly brought a shaking hand to black cat ears, “I can’t hide these, and- and I really need to.” Her eyes finally changed, dripping down into a deep sadness that spoke only of understanding. Adrien believed it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” she whispered back in response, “but we’ll figure it out. I can help now.” a gentle smile smoothed the frown of contemplation that had found itself on her lips. “Plagg helped me earlier. I left Tikki here with you and headed to your house, it’s a good thing you were only tasked to do your piano today and not a photoshoot. I didn’t show much of myself, but I still did enough of your schedule out of sight that they won’t question it. Though I had to excuse myself from going to the dining room for dinner saying that I wasn’t feeling too well but thought it might just be exhaustion.” Adrien nodded tiredly. He already dreaded having to talk to Nathalie about that, but his Lady was here with him now and would definitely help him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes, his Lady was here. She was great at coming up with plans. They’d surely come up with something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was after talking far later into the night that they’d come up with this plan before going to sleep. Despite his protests, Marinette -and wasn’t that surprising? It </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>a dream- had slept on the chaise lounge. But even after she’d left him back in the loft bed, he had had a hard time going back to sleep and was extremely thankful he’d rested so much earlier. His mind simply wouldn’t stop going round and round about the fact that his Lady was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Marinette</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had hoped of course, but he hadn’t thought he’d be that lucky. After all, he was a black cat, almost through and through now. But he’d forgotten that in many cultures, black cats ward off evil and welcome prosperity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just couldn’t believe his luck, especially when he woke in the morning and saw her stretching before getting ready for the day, her first set of arms over her head, her second out before her, and crystal clear wings slipping from her back. Kwami, she had never looked so beautiful than in that moment, morning sunlight warming her skin and refracting through her wings, causing a waltz of rainbows across the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gulped harshly simply remembering it, her surprised smile when she looked up at him, as if he was all she ever wanted and waking up like this in the same room was what she most desired out of life. He’d never felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span>, even beneath the gaze of his caring mother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien had never seen her wings clear like this, had never seen how smooth and almost porcelain-like her skin was, because usually he saw her in red and black and pink and grey and she stayed mostly covered. He hadn’t wanted to go home, all he wanted was to be beside her, to gaze at those crystalline wings. His hands had </span>
  <em>
    <span>itched</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be on her shoulders, her back, her arms, her stomach, her neck, in her hair, and he felt wrong for it, because usually you didn’t want to touch someone so much and in such places. When he had given in to putting his hand on her shoulder for a second though, when he pulled his hand away, he felt unsatisfied and frustrated, like something was missing or something hadn’t worked the way it should. A growl had threatened to come from his throat and he had barely been able to hold it back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was a terrible person. He had to be to want to touch her so much. So even though he didn’t want to leave, he forced himself to because he couldn’t stand thinking like this about her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette, kind as she was, flew him home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face was still pink from having been carried bridal style, but her wings certainly were faster than going home as Chat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked like a faery when she waved goodbye outside his window before heading back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien sighed before looking to his closet and the door to his bathroom. Right, he had to get dressed. Wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that he thought of it- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked down at himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>These weren’t his clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were the right size, but these loose and comfy clothes were definitely not what he was wearing yesterday and his hair- now that he wasn’t surrounded by it, he could definitely tell that his hair smelled like Marinette. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face burned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d changed his outfit for him, which possibly meant she’d made these for him, and she’d even washed the blood out of his hair and he certainly didn’t remember </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t want to take that shower anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a dangerous thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ran to his closet, grabbed some clothes, then dashed into the bathroom, speedily but carefully removing the lounging clothes he’d received before jumping right into the shower, temperature at its hottest to hopefully burn the thoughts away. He scrubbed at his hair, wary around his ears, and ignored Plagg’s cackling from his room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he was finally out and freshly dressed, he went back to his bag. Inside was yesterday’s clothes and even though the blood had been mostly washed out, there was still faded yellow stains because the blood had already dried by the time Marinette found him, which meant it was stuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien sighed thinking of yesterday’s events. Yeah, he was really lucky to have Marinette.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moving on, he reached for the blond wig that miracle worker of a girl had on hand. Thankfully, she was commissioned for a Chat Noir cosplay outfit recently for the hero con coming up soon and of course she had been meticulous about details, especially when it came to him, so the color was the exact same as his and after some styling, he looked as he always had before yesterday.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t exactly like pressing his ears down like this but it helped tamp the amount of sound he was receiving down to a level that was easier to manage, closer to his previous hearing range.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a huff, Adrien set off to fight a battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He headed straight for the atelier, positive that his father was already in there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To keep from psyching himself out of what he was about to do, he didn’t hesitate at the door, but knocked shortly and immediately followed up that action with entering his father’s designing room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel looked up from his desk unamused. “Adrien? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just the cold blue of his eyes made him want to run from the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confidence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steely, determined bluebell flashed into mind. A sweet whisper in his head reminding him of what she had told him last night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confidence. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Be confident and you’re more likely to get what you want. Your father will not appreciate meekness.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can do this.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to hold back a smile now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With courage and steadiness, Adrien walked swiftly to stand before his father’s desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father, I would like to quit being a model and work in the business side of the brand.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel eyed him skeptically, the twitch of the corner of his mouth betraying his disdain. “I thought you liked being a model. Can’t you do both?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien resisted shaking his head, laboring to keep his eyes on his father. “You are correct sir, I did like being a model but I wish to work more with you so I can sufficiently take over the company for you when I’ve come of age and being a model on the side of that while still dealing with school would be inefficient.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel leaned back in his chair, slightly impressed by his son as he mulled over this information. He’d never expect Adrien to be so bold, but the boy was growing, perhaps it was time to bring him to the more professional side of things. He doubted his boy to be a designer though, that was likely his fault for not working on that during Adrien’s younger years, but he needed to be able to design for the company. “Do you believe yourself capable of learning how to design?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien really wanted to shake his head, but resisted the urge. “No, but I know someone who is great at it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel’s eyebrow quirked up. “Oh? And who might this someone be?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The name sounded familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She has vast connections and has won many competitions, including several of our own and most memorably that bowler hat competition you held a few years back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah right, that’s why it was familiar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So do you plan on marrying this young woman then? Because that is what you are implying.” Usually, Gabriel would feel a great need to immediately reject this Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but she had good credentials if he’s won some of his competitions and she seemed to be on good terms with his son. He wondered how he had forgotten the name of such a promising designer. Just in case, he would be sure to check her background out himself, make sure her quality is up to par for his expectations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Based on the way Adrien’s face turned a bright scarlet red, he’d hit the nail on the head. Gabriel allowed a smirk to slip out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright then, we’ll start with a single month internship and see how well you do. Should you not reach expectations, you will go back to modeling. Are we clear?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Face still red, Adrien couldn’t resist nodding this time, his voice refusing to work. Gabriel would let it go this once because he’d seen something interesting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Adrien turned to leave, his father’s voice stopped him momentarily. “Invite her to dinner sometime soon. I would like to personally meet her.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien managed to squeak out an “ok.” before he was out the atelier and dashing for the dining room for breakfast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t believe how well things went! Surely he was using too much luck at once and the other shoe would drop soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure enough, the other shoe </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> drop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It dropped agonizingly slow, so slow you could hardly see it’s movement until it finally hit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a slight protrusion to his spine in the beginning. It wasn’t very noticeable honestly, its just that the skin didn’t dip down to his spine as much as before and the bumps were prominent, slowly getting thicker near his lower back while close to his nape there was very little change. Annoyingly enough too, his butt had been hurting a lot lately which sucked because he was sitting at desks more often now that he started working closer with his father. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed at his school desk, absentmindedly rubbing at his still tender collarbones. He would’ve had that checked out by now if his body wasn’t already an anatomical anomaly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette, walked up to his desk, ever so silent, he wondered where she learned to be that quiet? Heroics? He still knew she was coming because of her heavenly scent either way, which meant he</span>
  <em>
    <span> also</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew that she had a little something for him. His mouth watered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she started, a very familiar thermos and white paper bag in hand, “Are you alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien knew what she meant when she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, just a bit sore in places.” He took the goodies from Marinette’s proffered hand. She’d been sure to give him a lot more nutrient dense snacks, even making new recipes specifically for him because she knew that the changes were demanding. She had already asked what his heaviest cravings were at the moment so when he took a sip of the extra creamy coco, he practically melted. He was also incredibly excited to open the Tom &amp; Sabine bakery bag and find a croissant filled with cream. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been drinking a lot of milk and eating tons of cheese lately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something would be happening and soon, they were sure, though what it would entail was a complete mystery. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien tugged on his beanie a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since getting his ears, he was constantly wearing hats, most often beanies because Marinette knitted them for him. He’d wear the wig every now and then, especially for formal events, but Adrien liked the extra freedom, however limited, more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The protrusion on his spine continued to grow and his back was hurting like crazy. It almost felt like something was moving up and cutting the flesh aside as it moved at the base of his spine, making him constantly sore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to stretch, have his muscles strain with the action, but since the pain had started, his back had become more stiff and certainly not as flexible as it had recently been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing in frustration, he took another bite of his pastry that was followed swiftly by a gulp of coco and settled in for the long haul. His back was hurting worse today than any previous day. He wondered if it’d continue to get stronger till he could no longer bear it. He hoped that whatever it is would just get itself done with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hoping it would all just be done as soon as possible had quickly become a regret. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted to go through that again. Thank heavens it’s a one time is all sort of thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was just climbing into bed, earlier than he’d like, when he heard the slap of a sole against the ground, followed by the tumbling clatter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pain exploded in his back, spiking and burning, making it arc outward and forcing him to his hands and knees, fingers clutching desperately at his sheets, forehead pressed into the bedding beneath. A scream was quickly suffocated before it got too loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien knew what was happening, the burn and stretching of existence a familiar feeling since that time he’d been forced to the cool tile of the school bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sharp teeth ground against each other in his effort to stave off the pain, to hold on until it passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As skin broke, his shirt was shredded and he felt cool air brush against his spine. Something sore was moving, something he could barely feel but knew was there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He collapsed on his stomach, pain temporarily alleviating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien reached back in time to feel warm, slick, bone before strings of muscle came back to cover it, followed by the familiarly liquid state of skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he looked back, he found a tail of bone lashing through the air, liquid skin and blood and muscle and blood clinging to it as it created itself from the small amount of flesh it took from his back, dripping the visceral substances every now and then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was already tired before this, so he had no energy to do anything more than watch as it slowly formed, becoming a sleek appendage of skin, the only pain being the dull ache of new nerves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A shiver traveled up his spine as, like his ears, the cooling appendage was wrapped in black fur, the sound of rustling filling the space around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drained, Adrien curled up in a ball, long black tail coming up toward his face, and fell asleep without bothering to put on another shirt or slide into the comforters. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien’s body felt incredibly sore and cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cracked an eye open and found Plagg in his usual spot on his pillow, fast asleep. He reached for his phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>11:23. Not even midnight yet so he hadn’t been out for long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien thought of going back to bed, shuffling to do so, when he realized that not only was his shirt lying in shreds beside him, but the waistband of his boxers was no good as well, which led him to remember that he had to hide this appendage and had no flipping clue how he was gonna do that. He remembered how Marinette had specialized some of her clothes for her wings and extra arms and realized he’d need the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a good thing he was already close to ending his one month internship for his father and was apparently doing really well. Which reminded him that he still had yet to ask Marinette over for dinner, in fact, he had yet to say anything on his feelings for her and now that he thought of it. That was really dumb, but after the stress of new ears and falling into this new lifestyle, he hadn’t even thought to address them, even as his father glared at him every now and then for not having had the chance to meet the girl his son was so infatuated with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which brought him back to Marinette and the realization that he would have to ask </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>to make him </span>
  <em>
    <span>underwear and pants</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His face burned from the thought of it, but he didn’t exactly have any other choice. No one else knew his secret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes flicked to the opposite side of his room, to the wall of windows, then to his phone, and then back again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tomorrow was a school day. He needed altered clothes as soon as possible, but even if he couldn’t get them before tomorrow, he could figure something out. Two heads are better than one though…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wouldn’t hurt to go out and check if she’s awake still. She usually was at this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a groan, he stood from his bed-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>and is immediately shocked by how grounded he felt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since he gained his ears, he had a constant need to be upright, balanced, and it helped a lot during akuma, but he also constantly felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>out </span>
  </em>
  <span>of balance, like something was missing and he was continually overcompensating for it, the feeling only alleviating slightly when he was Chat Noir.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt completely balanced now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ohhh, so the tail helped him balance, that’s why it was easier to run, walk, move, when he was Chat. Yes, now he felt much better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a step forward and was amazed how strong and solid he felt. It made him giddy and excited to run along the roof tops. He couldn’t leave just yet though, he needed something for his lower half for now. He couldn’t just walk out in shredded underwear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rushed to his closet to search, but for the exact reason he was going out, he had nothing to wear with a tail and he was sure he’d once again feel slightly off balance if he was forced to have it go through a pant leg or something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frustration built up and he scowled. What the heck was he gonna wear?! He pulled out a random pair, measured with a ruler how far down his tail would approximately be, then cut a hole. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he slid the diy tail-pliant underwear on, he was gratified to know that he’d estimated the location of his tail rather accurately. He then grabbed one of his least worn pants that he’d likely never wear again and cut those too. This time he screwed up exactly where his tail would go, making the fabric tug uncomfortably at the base of his tail, and forcing him to take them off to cut slightly lower. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satisfied, he grabbed a sleepy Plagg from his place on the pillow and set the kwami on his head between his ears. The mini black cat shifted and curled further into Adrien’s blond bedhead hair before going back to sleep. He didn’t want to wake Plagg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With lithe, graceful steps, despite the pins and needles that had begun to grow in his feet and toes, he approached his windows and propped one of them open, moving so smoothly he doubted he’d made Plagg wobble at all from where he slept in his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Each step he took, the more he lifted to balance on his toes. He’ll have to make a conscious effort to keep his heels on the ground in public now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leapt silently onto the edge before leaping out past the wall that had once so easily hindered him, his nails digging into the stone beneath him, not yet strong the way he needed them, and then he was running. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All four limbs touched the ground of the rooftops without a sound. Usually, even though it was quiet, he still made noise as he ran across the rooftops of Paris as Chat Noir. But he was not Chat Noir, no, Chat Noir was </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> and now no one would ever be able to separate the two once independent entities ever again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fast</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was going nearly as fast as a car, but he was missing something to reach that speed. He wasn’t sure yet what it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leapt through the air between rooftops wanting nothing more than to twist, spin, flip, do any sort of acrobatics up here, but he had a passenger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette’s balcony quickly came into view, lights still on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile stretched across his lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thank goodness.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When he landed, both his hands and feet felt like they had pins and needles but not like he’d been rough on them while traveling across the rooves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he double checked that Plagg had yet to wake, he squatted down and knocked on the trap door before standing back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few moments, the door was propped open and raven hair popped up, bluebell glass connecting with Adrien. “Uh, hi,” he gave a small little wave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She seemed surprised, then confused and flustered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” her voice was hesitant, drawing out the ‘h.’ His tail twitched in nervousness in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes seemed to catch on something behind him, near the ground, and realization dawned on her face. It was incredibly intriguing how she wore her feelings so clearly, and even more so intriguing as he watched them fall into that warm smile of understanding and cherishing that he had constantly had the pleasure to be the target of lately. It made his insides melt into a gooey mess. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She disappeared back inside again and it only took him a moment to pull himself together and follow her down the hatch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He landed softly beside her bed, undesirous of making the covers dirty with his feet. She watched from below and bid him down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he was finally standing before her, she smiled up at him and asked, “I take it you need my help for something?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His cheeks pinked and he looked to the side, away from those stelling bluebell gems. He tried to open his mouth and answer but found that his throat clogged up and his voice decided not to work anymore, so he simply nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a small chuckle before Marinette turned away to grab some measuring tape. He was so glad she knew what he was here for. It probably helped that he now had a long black tail that reached the floor in length. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she turned away, he took the moment to look at her outfit. She was currently shirtless if you didn’t count her bra as a shirt in and of itself, it covered nearly the entirety of her front half after all. It was a navy blue and seemed to already have things like ink stains on it so it was probably the one she wore when she was working with all four of her arms seeing as it was tied in a small bow around her waist, her second set of arms hanging loose from there normal confines. She had on pink monpe pants that ended just below midshin, an anklet he’d never noticed before sitting on her left ankle. In its entirety, the outfit heavily reminded Adrien of Chihiro’s outfit when she was eating with Lin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finding the measuring tape where she left it, Marinette returned to his side and looked up at him, “I’m gonna start measuring and it’d be more accurate of I did that without the pants on. You don’t mind do you?” Even as she asked, her freckled cheeks darkened slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien swallowed past the embarrassment and the something hot that he really needed to not focus on right now and said “N-no, I’m fine, I did come here for your help after all.” Marinette stepped back and looked somewhere else, allowing him a small amount of privacy and lessening the embarrassment of undressing before her. When he’d pulled the pants off and pushed them to the side, she turned back and nodded to herself, “Alright, stand as still as possible please.” She didn’t wait for an answer before kneeling in front of him. Adrien looked away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried not to think of the feel of the tape wrapping around his waist and legs or the small, dainty hands that pressed one end of that tape to the small of his back and the other just above his tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed when she saw the jagged and hasty cut through which his tail was protruded from. It made his ears burn even as his insides melted once more at the sound of that beautiful laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If it was to hear that laugh again, he would gladly make a fool of himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt those cool fingers on both sides of the base of his tail, measuring how wide the appendage was so that she could make sure the diameter of the hole she made on his pants and such was right. He struggled to stay stock still and he was sure that he was too tense now but that didn’t matter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When her hands actually brushed against his tail when pulling away though, his entire body felt as if it’d been dunked into magma. Shivers he couldn’t suppress ran up his spine, tingling pleasantly at the base of his skull. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette, busy writing down the measurement she’d taken, didn’t notice at all so Adrien hastily reached for his pants, taking careful steps away from his partner and making sure that his back stayed towards her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” she mumbled, getting up from the floor, “You probably want this as soon as possible…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked back and found her already reaching for supplies and bringing it to her desk where her lamps lit the rest of her room in warm shadows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Calming down, he crouched next to the chaise lounge and watched her work, his tail sedately swinging about behind him in lazy interest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was amazing to see her at work. Sure, he’d seen her sew and create with those slender fingers before, still did every now and then at school when she was either bored or rushing to meet a due date for a commission, but he’d never seen her at work with her second set of hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That well acquainted feeling of warmth that reminded Adrien of drinking hot coco after a day of busy schedules filled his chest again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was so beautiful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wondered if she knew it too, knew what she did to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way, he was gonna make sure she did eventually… perhaps even tonight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The stinging of his palms and soles and fingers and toes had faded now, so he stood and walked silently and walked over to her without strain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right as she was finishing the first pair of underwear and already working on joggers, he was behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She spun about, smile wide, happy to help him and accomplish something, words on the tip of her tongue, then she looked up to him and froze, her cheeks coloring prettily. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>That need to touch grew once more and he eased down to his knees so that she was above him, her hands frozen in their task. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned in gradually, giving her time to move away, and rubbed his cheek on her bent leg, nuzzling her softly. His eyes located one of her frozen hands -one of her second ones- and with his own he gently grabbed it and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the knuckle. His tail wrapped securely around her ankle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He loved these hands. They created so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kissed the base of each finger before his dilated eyes traveled up her arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keeping her hand in his, he leaned up toward her and nuzzled the space below her collarbone, her hands having fallen to her lap at one point. Through their joined hands, he felt so clearly her heartbeat. It vibrated within her entire being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, he drew himself higher and pressed his cheek to hers before nuzzling again, his other hand coming up on the other side of her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he pulled back, he caught a sniff of wood and rose intermingling sweetly and a purr rumbled out without his conscious thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she smelled like his.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt a strong sense of satisfaction and an itch he hadn’t realized he had eased from his body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, he’s been wanting to scent her this entire time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, if that isn’t embarrassing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up to see wide bluebell, plush pink lips parted in a small ‘o’, and a red dusting that matched well with her freckles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette,” he started, “we never did end up talking about it, but I’m glad it was you. I couldn’t think of anyone better and had honestly hoped it was you for so long now. That said,” he brought her hand back to his lips and kissed it once more. “I love you, my Lady, more than life itself.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears pricked the edge of her eyes and her smile turned wobbly, but he knew when the tears came, they were happy ones. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded a little, her head bobbing barely. “I love you too, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon chaton</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Ever since that day in the rain.” Surprise flitted through him but was quickly pushed aside to hear the rest of what she had to say, “Do you think you could ever be satisfied with this monstrous me?” Her voice broke on ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>monstrous’</span>
  </em>
  <span> and her face was vulnerable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled lovingly at her, “Of course, my Lady, I already am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That seemed to be the right answer -not like he’d say any different if it wasn’t- because the tears spilled forth in more earnest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pressed their foreheads together, “May I kiss you?” he whispered, his voice deeper than it should have been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A little laugh bubbled from Marinette and she nodded with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>minou</span>
  </em>
  <span>, kiss me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His already half lidded eyes slipped shut and adjusted so that it was their lips that met, not their foreheads. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was as soft as he thought it was, and so warm. Hot chocolate pulsed through his veins, leaving him warm and sugary. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They pulled away after a short time, and when they looked at one another, it was with a blissful smile. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>No more secrets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no more secrets between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day, Adrien walked into the classroom like normal… to everyone without a knowing mind and keen eye. He was actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>ecstatic </span>
  </em>
  <span>because not only did the underwear fit well without bothering his tail -which was currently hiding wrapped around his leg- but he was going to see Marinette, the love of his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes meet hers and it took every ounce of his control to keep his ears and tail from reacting while making sure he continued to walk to his spot at the desk in front of her rather than run up the steps to her bench and wrap himself around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a painfully slow endeavor, his focus on controlling himself keeping him from doing much else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He forces himself to his seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But there’s still more time… he turns to look at her and is instantly pleased to see her gazing at him in return, and with </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> smile nonetheless! The smile that seemed to say he was the world, sun, and moon, the very universe itself. The smile that told him he was amazing and loved and that no matter what happened, that would never change. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t help but reciprocate the feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled back and he was sure he got the sentiment across because her pretty face pinked and her eyes shifted to her lap, smile turning slightly shy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh how he wished he could reach up and touch her, nuzzle her, hold her. He didn’t quite notice how his nails seemed to elongate and sharply grab onto the desk to help keep his paws to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien noticed vaguely how Alya looked back and forth between the two several times before guffawing and slapping a friendly hand on Marinette’s back. “Gurl! I didn’t know you had it in you!” Her smile is brilliant but not as much as Marinette’s. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! I </span>
  <em>
    <span>must </span>
  </em>
  <span>have the deets, </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Alya can drag away her friend and Adrien’s opportunity, he leans in and says, “Hey, uh, Marinette?” Bluebell framed in long black rims focuses on him and he fights desperately to stay afloat and say what he had to. “My father wants to meet you for lunch. Do you think you could come?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alya gasps and shakes her friend by the shoulders, “Em! How far have you gone?!” Marinette squeaks and shrinks on in herself but nods minutely to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien leaves the two to talk and turns in his seat, only then finding a pair of wide golden eyes trained on him and feeling another set on his back. He turns to the slack jawed Nino with a silent question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nino is thankfully quick to restart his brain and shuts his mouth with a click. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien can just </span>
  <em>
    <span>see</span>
  </em>
  <span> the wheels turning in his head and he wonders what it is that Nino’s thinking so hard about when Nino finally figures out what he wants to say. “Adrien, when did you and ‘Nette get together?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah. Y-yesterday actually.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Huh.” Right then, Mlle Bustier walks in to start the class and Nino mutters one last thing under his breath as he turns to the front. Adrien thinks he wasn’t supposed to hear it but with his sensitive ears, it was impossible not to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Freaking finally.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shame heats his face because he heard just yesterday how long and hard Marinette endeavored to express her love and get him to fall in love with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally indeed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lunch was not nearly as unsavory an affair as he had expected it. In fact, his father seemed to have taken a shine to his partner-girlfriend-soulmate-other-half. Adrien was pleased to see how much his father was actually talking at the table. It was so much that Gabriel had ended up having them sit closer to him on his side of the far too enormous table so that they didn’t have to talk so loud. Though, that may have been an excuse to simply be closer to the amazing girl Adrien had fallen for. Even he could tell that his father was falling for her charms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette brought warmth into the house after so long. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just thinking about the way his father sent them off to school once more with a small smile made his steps lighten, and they really can’t lighten much so he was basically floating at this point. He couldn’t fight the grin as he stretched, readying for his patrol. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knows that Marinette told him to refrain from going on patrols on his own because he might yet have another change but he was feeling too giddy to simply stay in his house. It’s not like he’ll be gone long. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chat took great satisfaction in how far his back could stretch and turn. He’d been more flexible since his changes and he could almost stretch as extremely as a cat, but his tail was growing along it for a while, limiting how far he could elongate. Said tail now swung back and forth behind him, his back was no longer limited. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Warmed from stretching, Chat bent down, placing his hands in front of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ooh this was gonna be fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tendons pulled and nails extended, latching onto the ground below, he shifted onto his toes and fingers. Then he was off. Launching from roof to roof, going nearly as fast as his Lady could fly and faster than most of the cars down below. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The air whipped past his ears and brought to him all sorts of smells. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His body pulled apart, the stretching of his spine helping increase his speed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From his excitement cane a whoop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d almost gone over the entire parameter of Paris when something happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he leapt from one rooftop to the next, something snapped. Pain blossomed below his neck and tears stung his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He landed awkwardly on the next rooftop and when he tried to slow to a stop, his collarbones, or where his collarbones </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> have been, throbbed with pulses of pain. Then something in his shoulders broke so he was unable to control himself when his own inertia threw him over the next roof and into the alley below. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, a full garbage broke his fall. Unthankfully, it still hurt like hell and now he’s gonna have a hard time getting rid of the smell of trash on him later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he tried to get up, pain spiked through his torso and throbbed on his shoulders. Looking down at himself, he found why his shoulders hurt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They didn’t even look quite attached anymore! They’d pulled forward so that the scapula wasn’t laying across his back anymore, but was rather </span>
  <em>
    <span>perpendicular</span>
  </em>
  <span> from it. Muscles writhed beneath around the shoulder but otherwise there was nothing new, except maybe his collarbone. It wasn’t hurting anymore, and it looked fine, but he reached up to it anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Under the slightest of pressure, it bent inward like pushing in on wire, however it slowly moved back to its original position, making it look like his normal collarbones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Adrien had to guess </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> his collarbone is now like this, he’d have to say it was to help him fit into smaller places because a cat’s collarbone is almost nonexistent. He already has so much other stuff to hide, why the heck is this here too? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frustration building, he decides he’ll think about it more after he runs, which is now even faster than before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Exhausted and weary after running all his frustrations out, he collapses to his bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he fell asleep though, he noticed that his shoulders didn’t look odd anymore now that he was on his bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Does that mean they’ll only go like that if he’s running? He sure hopes that’s the case.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;◉&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few more days and an akuma in which Rena Rouge had to join them, he finds that yes, his shoulders only pull away from their normal places when he’s running, except its only while he’s running on all fours which is convenient because that means he won’s just break in front of everyone while running in gym.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was only when he was assured that’s how it works that he told Marinette. She was, understandably, upset that he hadn’t told her immediately. He promised he wouldn’t do that again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes were drifting shut during a break in classes when a yelp and clatter behind him scared his sleepiness away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien spun around in his spot, as did the rest of the class, to see what was happening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind him, Alya’s books were spilled across the table and onto the floor like she’d just knocked them off. Her chest heaved, inhaling and exhaling in quick, shallow breaths. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had scared her so bad? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard his Lady’s breath hitch and wondered what she had seen. Then hazel-turned-amber eyes met his and he understood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slitted eyes like his own stared back at him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! Did you like what I did? Did I miss something? Please let me know!<br/>I have a lot of sources for this chapter and a few for the previous so if you guys would like it, I can put them in here somewhere so that you can get <i>all</i> the knowledge!</p><p>Once again, thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great Halloween! Stay safe!<br/>Comments, questions, and feedback are all welcome.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic has been added to the Miraculous Ladybug Fanworks's October challenge of Dark Month!<br/>I get to do so many of these challenges all thanks to their <a href="https://discord.gg/mlfanworks">discord</a> so go check them out!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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